Carnival of Soul

As famed “final destination” on the Underground Railroad, Windsor has proud roots on the path to freedom for many African-American slaves in the 1800s.

This weekend the city will once again celebrate Emancipation Day through traditional music, food, family reunions and a salute to local history.

“We’re just doing our best to keep it going and growing,” said Bradley Jones, president of the Emancipation Day Committee of Windsor said. “I’ve been very surprised and kind of disappointed with the number of people who don’t even know what the word emancipation means — education’s going to have to be a big part of it.”

Emancipation Day marks the abolition of slavery in the British Empire on Aug. 1, 1834.

Nearly a century later in Windsor, in 1931, a man named Walter Perry started an enormous August tradition to celebrate and commemorate the emancipation of slaves and the significance of the Underground Railroad.

That put Windsor on the map at the time and it should remain a part of our history and be celebrated

Standing in front of the Tower of Freedom Underground Railroad monument in downtown Windsor on Friday, Jones showed his “goosebumps” after a man walked by and said he would “see him Saturday” at the celebration. 

“That’s all it took is for one of my elders to say ‘see you Saturday’ and I’m all lit up,” Jones said. “They’re the reason I do it.”

Emancipation Day celebrations will be held at Lanspeary Park on Saturday. The event starts at 11 a.m. and will offer music from Motown, soul and R&B groups like Tee Turner, Heart of Soul and Cancel Monday. Windsor-born three-time Golden Glove champion and Canadian Boxing Hall of Famer Charles David (Spider) Jones will give a keynote speech and, new this year, Brew Microbrewery will host a beer tent for adults.

Family fun includes a vendor’s market, animals from Zoo2You, the Windsor Express with an indoor sports station and Border City Barkers hosting a dog show. Guests will have the chance to dunk a few local celebrities including Windsor Express head coach Bill Jones, city councillors and a surprise guest.

Blending the past with the present, chef James Morgan will be cooking up soul food all day long. As a kid, Morgan helped out with Windsor’s early celebrations, which had evolved into a internationally-acclaimed four-day extravaganza.

“That put Windsor on the map at the time and it should remain a part of our history and be celebrated,” Jones said.

“This is the history of Windsor. Along with the Big Three and all these other things Windsor is known for, emancipation should be right up there.” 

Jones said the independent documentary The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth, captured the grandeur of the original celebrations — with massive parades, marching bands and a Miss Sepia beauty pageant.

While the event would sometimes go on for days, the Jackson Park grandstand bandshell was once an integral location for much of the celebrations. The grandstand and bandshell burnt down in 1957. It was reconstructed two years later but is no longer in use.

“It’s probably the single only part of (the original) emancipation celebrations that’s left in Windsor,” Jones said, noting he’d like to return the event there one day.

Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Eleanor Roosevelt were among the dignitaries who gave keynote speeches over the year. Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Jesse Owens also took in the Windsor event.

“This is our opportunity to keep the tradition going for as long as well can and, like I said, keep it going, keep it growing — see how close we can get back to the original,” Jones said.

Jones, whose ancestors accessed the Underground Railroad, believes his family came to Canada from Virginia but much of the family history is undocumented.

“What the Africans take so much as a point of pride has been stripped of us,” he said.

Jones said it’s important to educate the younger generations about emancipation and the past and believes it should play a larger part in Windsor’s history.

“Windsor was a final destination on the Underground Railroad — so I think as far as travel and tourism goes, that should be out there more,” he said. “Saying you know Windsor’s a stopping point of the Underground Railroad.”

Emancipation Day celebrations will be held at Lanspeary Park Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m, admission is free. To see the full schedule visit the event committee website at edcw.ca.

lcharlton@postmedia.com