A march that wasn’t, but Russell won’t give up

James Russell was hoping 500 people would march from the Negro Burial Ground to the steps of the Court House on Queen Street in an effort to get the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake to take action in uncovering buried headstones. However, this past Sunday, Father’s Day, only a handful of people were in attendance.

“You make time for what’s important,” said Russell. “There are fathers buried here who have been rendered anonymous. An hour march isn’t going to take a big part of someone’s day.”

Russell, a Toronto area resident and former photojournalist, first became interested in the burial site during a work trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was just over a year ago that he became invested in unearthing the headstones.

Ground penetrating radar, commissioned and paid for by Russell, has revealed 28 graves and 19 buried headstones on the historic site on Mississagua Street near John Street West.

That led to Archaeological Research Associates providing a quote of $59,000 for the unearthing, cleaning and restoration of the headstones.

Russell had hoped that the march would convince the town to find the money “to restore the Negro Burial Ground, now,” he said, emphasizing the word ‘now’. “Only then can we find out who was buried here, and begin to find out what their story was.”

“They have no names, they have no stories, they have no history,” said Russell.

His wife, Marilyn, and son, James, were also in attendance, having driven from Toronto that morning. Desmond Brown, his wife, Alice Abbott, and son, Felix Abbott, also drove from Toronto to join the march. In early May, Brown interviewed Russell for his podcast Sold in the 6ix. The episode with Russell is titled The Burying and Cover-up of a Proud Black Canadian Past.

In the podcast, Russell stated that a town employee told him that, in the ’80s, town employees laid down the headstones to make it easier to cut the grass. Russell’s contention “is that they buried them.”

Also supporting the cemetery, with the town behind them, is a group of local citizens, Friends of the Forgotten, whose goal is to bring the same level of attention, care and respect to this burial ground as is given to other important historic sites in town.

On March 21, town council voted unanimously to support the work of this fundraising committee in principle. The town has endorsed it as the official fundraisers for the burial site.

In a press release earlier this year, CAO Marnie Cluckie said that “the town is committed to honouring those buried at the cemetery and preserving heritage in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”

Staff is working with the committee concerning next steps, she said, and at that time was conducting a stage one Archaeological Assessment through funding raised by them.

Alice Abbott said she was “massively disappointed” with the turnout for the march on Sunday. “People are familiar with the idea that there might be something below the ground that should be known. People are getting used to the idea of uncovering difficult pasts, learning about it, embracing it and atoning for it. And then making it part of our present.”

“The town has their head in the sand,” added Abbott. “There is nothing wrong with someone on council putting their hand up and saying, ‘you know what? The time has come.’”

“We essentially have no march,” said Russell, as the group dispersed from the burial ground around 2 p.m. without having walked to the Court House. “But the good news is that I am never going to give up.”

This week, Russell plans to contact all 124 MPPs to give an overview of the Negro Burial Ground Project, which he plans to turn into a non-profit called the Canadian Unmarked Graves Project to focus on “educating and lobbying cemetery owners about the ethical, legal and historical importance of maintaining their properties in the condition mandated by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario and other provincial and federal legislation,” said Russell in a copy of the letter he shared with The Local.

“Our first campaign is to restore the 19 headstones of Black freedom-seekers buried in Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Negro Burial Ground.”