Prime Minister Trudeau won many hearts on the ride

They came out in droves on Tuesday morning to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the journey of the Underground Freedom Train. The ride is a collaborative effort of Blackhurst Cultural Centre and the TTC and has picked up steam year after year.

Those taking part rode from Union to Downsview station as part of the symbolic yearly journey celebrating the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which initiated the process of ending legal human bondage in the former British Empire.

The ride is meant in part as a nod to the legacy of American abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman and the famed Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes used by enslaved African Americans to escape to freedom in some northern states and Canada after slavery was abolished here.

“We are in an imaginative time in an imaginative world, and we have the subway. And the subway, the last time I checked, runs underground. So we could use the power of that word to speak to a historical moment,” said Itah Sadu, who co-founded the event 10 years ago.

As people boarded the train, a choir sang traditional freedom songs, while others danced to the sound of drums.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the freedom ride. He gave a short speech over the subway trains’ sound system, saying it was a “deep honour” to participate in the 10th anniversary of the event.

“It is a moment to reflect and to celebrate,” he said. “A moment to reflect on all those who came before, all those who fought for freedom and all those who continue to inspire us every day to do more to stand up, to be better allies,” he said.

“A moment to reflect on all those who came before, all those who fought for freedom and all those who continue to inspire us every day to do more to stand up, to be better allies,” he said.

“I think it’s important to be part of our ancestral legacy. Our forefathers were here to build a foundation so I can be standing here today. So I think it’s important for me to come to make my mark for my generation,” said Oral Deen Brown, who took the ride for the first time.

The ride also has a connection to the upcoming Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly known as Caribana), Sadu said, itself a celebration of emancipation. Illuminating that connection was a key part of how the freedom ride was conceived a decade ago.

“Carnival is the most public expression of emancipation,” Sadu said, noting the event is best known for its vibrant costumes, singing, dancing, a

huge parade and wider celebration of Black culture.

On Tuesday, the Black Liberation Flag was raised during a ceremony at Toronto City Hall to mark the start of Emancipation Month. The flag, which is made up of the pan-African colours of red, black and green, was also raised at the Etobicoke, East York, Scarborough and York civic centres.

August was proclaimed Emancipation Month in the city for the first time in 2019, while Emancipation Day has been officially celebrated for decades.

Kemba Byam, manager of the city’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit, emceed the ceremony, which was attended by members of the Black community and city politicians.

“Emancipation Day and Emancipation Month is a celebration acknowledging the legal decision that enabled many of our ancestors and the people you see here today to live a life of liberty in a way that many of our ancestors could not,” Byam told the crowd.

“We embrace that journey and remember the sacrifice of our ancestors