The last place in North America where black people and white people
could not sit down together to share a cup of coffee in a restaurant
was not in the Deep South. It was in the small, sleepy Ontario town of
Dresden. Dresden is the site of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Slaves who made
their way north through the Underground Railroad created the thriving
Dawn Settlement in Dresden before and during the Civil War. They did
not find Utopia on the Canadian side of the border, despite their
efforts. In 1954 something extraordinary happened. The National Unity
Association was a group of African Canadian citizens in Dresden who
had challenged the racist attitudes of the 1950s and had forged an
alliance with civil rights activists in Toronto to push the Ontario
Government for changes to the law in order to outlaw discrimination.
Despite the law, some business owners continued to refuse to serve
blacks. The National Unity Association worked courageously through a
variety of means of protest to change attitudes. The story of their
season of rage is told in this compelling new book.
Read more
Hugh Burnett and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Product details
ISBN
9781770490208
Published
2017
Publisher
Random House Digital Inc.
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Author