The Mary Ann Shadd Cary Archives inscribed in the Canada Memory of the World Register
Ottawa, September 25, 2023 - Archives of Ontario, Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO are pleased to announce that the Mary Ann Shadd Cary archives have been added to the Canada Memory of the World Register. UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme highlights the most significant elements of the world’s documentary heritage, while the Canadian Register showcases documentary heritage of national significance.
Mary Ann Shadd Cary is a key figure in Black history in Canada - she was the first Black woman in North America to publish a newspaper and one of the first women journalists in Canada. Born free in 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s parents were active abolitionists and her childhood home was a safe house on the Underground Railroad.
She came to Canada in 1851, following the passage of the US Fugitive Slave Act (1850) and established a racially integrated school in Windsor, Ontario. In 1853 she founded The Provincial Freeman, a weekly newspaper that promoted the abolition of slavery, featured articles from prominent African American abolitionists, publicized the successes of Black refugees living in freedom in Canada, and promoted Black emigration to Canada.
These archival records are one of the most significant collections of material in North America about Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s life and work. They include correspondence and notes that provide a first-person account of her work and the abolitionist movement at a critical point in its history, capturing the energy and ideas that permeated her work as an educator and as editor of The Provincial Freeman as well as her thinking around anti-slavery, Black equality and women’s rights.
As highlighted in our recent report Black Canadians and Public Education: A scan of elementary and secondary social studies curricula – too few Canadians grow up learning about important figures in Canada’s Black history and the experiences of Black people in Canada. This collection provides the means for writing and teaching a more inclusive history of Canada, offering a Black woman’s viewpoint on the important anti-slavery activities that took place in pre-Confederation Canada.
– Yves-Gérard Méhou-Loko, Secretary General, Canadian Commission for UNESCO
The archival records of Mary Ann Shadd Cary reflect a transnational story demonstrating the strength, intelligence, and perseverance of a reporter, advocate, and community member at a time of immense social and cultural change. The near loss of some of these records in 1974, and their donation to a public institution, reminds us about the significance of our shared documentary heritage and the necessity of its preservation.
– Cody Groat, Chair, Canadian Advisory Committee for Memory of the World
Mary Ann Shadd Cary fought for freedom for her people using her writing, journalism and through her public speaking and engagement. In so doing, she set the blueprint for Black and women journalists for generations to come. She played a significant role in promoting Canada as a place for Blacks to settle, but she also put Canadian officialdom on notice that the Black community expected to be treated equally under the law. In a world largely shaped by the words and actions of men, she was a unique female voice for the ages.
– Adrienne Shadd, Historian, author and descendant of Mary Ann Shadd Cary
The Mary Ann Shadd Cary collection provides valuable insight into her life and efforts as an abolitionist, feminist, journalist, and educator through which we are able to gain a deeper understanding of the complex networks of activism and communication among activists, both Black and white, and the freedom movement on both sides of the Canada-United States border. Her records are also important evidentiary materials on the mid-19th century transnational Black intellectual history. The digital availability of this collection will provide educators and students worldwide with rich, informative primary sources to critically examine Black history in Canada and the United States. It is fitting to memorialize Mary Ann Shadd Cary and her work in this way because she had a significant impact on the lives of Black people in Canada, in North America, and in world history.
– Natasha Henry-Dixon, Assistant Professor of African Canadian History, York University
About UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme was initiated in 1992 to safeguard the world’s documentary heritage. The programme promotes universal access to materials with scientific, educational, aesthetic and cultural value, protecting them from the destructive forces of war, social upheaval, and other natural and human-caused disasters.
The Canada Memory of the World Register, administered by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, provides universal access to our artistic, cultural, economic, geographic, linguistic, political, scientific, spiritual and identity-based heritage. It also highlights the importance of making these unique collections accessible to students, researchers and the general public.
About the Canadian Commission for UNESCO
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) serves as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Through its networks and partners, the Commission promotes UNESCO’s values, priorities and programs in Canada and brings the voices of Canadian experts to the international stage. Its activities are guided by the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other UNESCO priorities. CCUNESCO operates under the authority of the Canada Council for the Arts.
For media inquiries and requests, please contact:
Vanessa Poulin-Gladu
Manager, Public Affairs
613-862-1637
vanessa.poulin-gladu@ccunesco.ca