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

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Mary Anne Shadd’s influence is noticeable in a highly relevant book that was published in 1855, just a year before the appearance of Drew’s A North-Side View of Slavery: The Refugee, or the Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada and written almost at the same time, by Samuel Ringgold Ward and titled Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro. In it, Ward continues Shadd’s ideological enterprise and his narrative delves into the Black condition and racism in Canada in comparison with the United States. By means of narrating the daily routines and incidents he encounters, Ward walks through Shadd’s paved way and “insists on the continuation of anti-slavery work in Canada in the face of continued support for slavery by a number of groups there” (Siemerling 118). His narrative presents importance elements that anticipate Drew’s own book. In a sort of prequel for the voices of Black Canadians appearing in Drew’s collection, Ward’s narrative is fecund in describing

black meetings, organizations, and the progress of black individuals, and portrays the black communities in Hamilton, St Catharines, London, Chatham, and Buxton. He rejoices over the economic progress in all of the communities visited, finds less-than-expected racism in St Catharines and London, and lauds the economic and educational achievements, absence of begging, and absolute temperance in the Elgin settlement. (Siemerling 119)