She walked with him in summer and winter, through hot, green fields and bright, snowy towns, snapping portraits of Johnston as he met Henson’s great-great-granddaughter, other descendants of the enslaved and people from across the region interested in a living history lesson. 

At its heart, it’s a story about relationships with the land — and how we travel across it.

And it’s an important story, especially now, as attempts to bury the realities of African American history — including Tubman’s courageous Underground Railroad journeys — ramp up in the United States. 

It’s equally crucial to recognize the truths of Canada’s history that Canice touches on, including our own legacy of slavery and how formerly enslaved families were often driven off of the land here instead of finding opportunity, or freedom. 

Stories like this take time to develop. Canice emailed me with this idea last summer and spent multiple days over two trips walking alongside Johnston.

And our shared work to broaden the scope of Canadian journalism goes back about 15 years, when we were part of a group of racialized journalists in Toronto that created a new home for our stories, since other publications kept rejecting them. 

That online magazine is gone now, but it gave lasting community and confidence to a cohort of reporters and editors who might have left this industry without each other. 

Now, we get to say yes to each other’s pitches — and tell stories like this one. Johnston wrote to Canice this week to say he “loves the story with a capital L.” I hope you do too. 

Take care and keep on walking, 

Denise Balkissoon 
Executive editor

 

This week in The Narwhal