Mary Ann Shadd, abolitionist and first Black female newspaper publisher, included in 2024 Canada Post stamps

CBC
·2 min read
Mary Ann Shadd was an American-Canadian abolitionist, journalist and lawyer who was the first Black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada. Shadd will be among those highlighted in a Canada Post stamp this year. (National Archives of Canada - image credit)
Mary Ann Shadd was an American-Canadian abolitionist, journalist and lawyer who was the first Black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada. Shadd will be among those highlighted in a Canada Post stamp this year. (National Archives of Canada - image credit)

Mary Ann Shadd, North America's first Black female newspaper publisher who lived in Windsor, Ont., will be featured on a stamp in 2024.

Canada Post said the stamp will be issued ahead of Black History Month as part of its 2024 lineup.

Irene Moore Davis is a historian and distant relative of Shadd. She said that Shadd's recognition as a significant Canadian figure was long overdue.

"It's about time," Davis said. "As someone who cares deeply about Black history in Canada, in the U.S., and especially in the Underground Railroad era, I just feel that she is one of the most important historical figures ever to have lived in this country. Not to mention this community where we are, Windsor-Essex."

"This is someone who really has been slept on, she's not been taught as adequately as she should be, she's not been as much a part of the conversation as she should be and it's about time."

Shadd was an influential abolitionist who lived in Windsor and published The Provincial Freeman, the third anti-slavery newspaper published in Canada. She was born in 1823 and in 1851, her family moved to Ontario, preparing to welcome Black people to Canada through the Underground Railroad.

She opened a school for Black and white students in Windsor on the grounds of what is now Windsor city hall.

Shadd died in June 1893 in Washington, D.C., according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

A new statue of Mary Ann Shadd, an American-Canadian abolitionist, journalist and lawyer, who was the first Black woman publisher in North America, was unveiled in Windsor, Ont. this week. Pictured are descendants of Shadd who attended the unveiling.
A new statue of Mary Ann Shadd, an American-Canadian abolitionist, journalist and lawyer, who was the first Black woman publisher in North America, was unveiled in Windsor, Ont. this week. Pictured are descendants of Shadd who attended the unveiling.

A statue of Shadd was unveiled in Windsor in May. Pictured are descendants of Shadd who attended the unveiling. (Jacob Barker/CBC)

The Canada Post stamp has been created in consultation with Shadd's living relatives for historical accuracy, as well as artwork approval.

Moore Davis was part of that process, and so was Adrienne Shadd, who is also researcher and historian.

"I was absolutely delighted about it," Shadd said. "She was such a formidable voice in the 19th century, against slavery and for trying to promote Canada as a place where Black people could settle and live in freedom, and equality."

"She was one of the dynamic forces at the time and, as a woman, that was no small feat."

A sculpture of Shadd was unveiled on the University of Windsor's downtown campus in May 2022.

A Canada Post spokesperson said an unveiling event for Shadd's stamp will be held in Chatham later this month.

Canada Post's offerings this year will also include:

  • The first stamp featuring a solar eclipse ahead of the eclipse on April 8.

  • A series of stamps featuring graphic novelists.

  • A wildflower stamp series in March.

  • Yet-to-be-announced stamps "honouring Great Canadians and popular culture icons."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

(CBC)