Читать книгу Benjamin Drew. The Refugee. Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada онлайн

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Indeed, by the 1840s, the Canadas witnessed a clear rise in anti-Black sentiment. Even if hundreds and eventually thousands of Blacks poured north seeking freedom, they only encountered prejudice in many forms. In a passage that is worth quoting in full, Robin Winks insightfully explains how

The Negroes congregated in settlements to themselves, however, and where they did move they seemed to move in abundance, attracting attention and generating prejudice. This prejudice was manifested in the usual ways: in occasional acts of group violence directed against Negroes who attempted to rise too far or too fast, in public resentment of the Negro settlements, in bills to inhibit or prohibit Negro use of the franchise, in segregated schools, and in the subtle currency of daily speech. Terms like “nigger” were in general use, and “darkies,” “sooties,” and other epithets occur in private and public papers. In French Canada two imports, “odor” and “parfum d’Afrique,” were employed by mid-century. Around York (ultimately Toronto) burning fallen trees into parts by placing small pieces of wood across them and then setting these on fire was known as “niggering.” (“A Sacred Animosity” 305)