Black leaders select trailblazers worthy of street name
The Toronto Star originally set out to do a story about city streets named after notable black Canadians, hoping to tell the unknown tales of trailblazers whose names are part of our daily lives and commutes.
We know that Hubbard Blvd., near Queen St. E. and Woodbine Ave, was named for Frederick Hubbard, who who lived from 1878 to 1953.
Hubbard was general manager of the Scarboro Beach Amusement Park and son of William Peyton Hubbard, Toronto’s first black alderman.
We also know that Dyer Lane in Cabbagetown is a tribute to Corp. Ainsworth Dyer, who grew up in Regent Park and was one of four Canadian soldiers killed in 2002 in Afghanistan. But surely, there must be more. Was Blackburn St., near the Don Valley Pkwy. and Gerrard St. E., an homage to Thornton Blackburn, the city’s first taxi company owner?
His influence on the city was unde- niable. After all, the red and yellow colour he used on his cabs was later adopted by the TTC. But when the Star asked local historians and city staff, no one had a definitive answer. It became clear that researching the provenance of all the city’s streets would take months, if not years. Finding the reason for a street’s name would require searching countless documents from the villages and towns that now make up Toronto, all of which had different methods of record-keeping. Even if the documents exist, there’s no guarantee a reason would be given for the thoroughfare’s name. When it comes to naming streets or lanes, the city looks for names with historical, cultural or social significance. Among other things, proposed names should honour people associated with the city, commemorate local history, places, events or cul- ture, and strengthen neighbourhood identity. The Star asked some notable black Canadians about who in their community they would like to see honoured with a street name: “Obviously, my pick is for Mr. (Albert) Jackson because he was the first black postman. He’s a serious part of the fabric of this city and of the black community.” Archie Alleyne, musician “My late father, Daniel Grafton Hill. He spent his lifetime at the forefront of the human rights movement in the city and the country,” says Laurence Hill. Daniel Grafton Hill was the first director and later chairperson of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and Ontario Ombudsman. He co-founded the Ontario Black History Society in 1978 and wrote the first popular history of blacks in Canada, called The Freedom Seekers: Blacks in Early Canada. Lawrence Hill, author, The Book of Negroes
Among the many people worthy of recognition are Dudley Laws, civil rights activist and executive director of the Black Action Defence Committee; Elder Christian, founder of the First Baptist Church; and Josiah Henson, author, abolitionist and minister. Rosemary Sadlier, president, Ontario Black History Society
“I would like to see the deceased Al Hamilton, editor and publisher of the early black community newspaper Contrast. He was a passionate man committed to the Toronto black community .” Jean Augustine, Fairness Commissioner for Ontario and the first black woman elected to the House of Commons Isabel Teotonio