Windsor memorialize abolitionist Mary Bibb with new monument

A striking new gateway arch now welcomes visitors to Mary E. Bibb Park in Sandwich Town, Windsor, unveiled during a heartfelt ceremony on Sunday attended by local dignitaries, community leaders, and residents. The arch stands not only as a physical marker but also as a long-overdue tribute to a woman whose life and work shaped early Black activism and journalism in Canada.

Teajai Travis, local artist and community organizer, has been a leading force behind the installation. For him, the arch represents more than commemoration; it is a reckoning with forgotten history. “Every person here today is going to be remembered for this moment,” he said to the gathered crowd, “as we stand here together.”

Mary Elizabeth Bibb, born around 1820 to free Black Quaker parents in Rhode Island, was a pioneer in multiple fields: education, journalism, community organizing, and entrepreneurship. After fleeing to Canada with her husband Henry Bibb following the enactment of the U.S. Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, she helped found The Voice of the Fugitive, Canada’s first antislavery newspaper produced by people of African descent. While Henry is widely credited as its editor and publisher, Mary wrote extensively—often anonymously—and took over those duties in his absence.

She also opened a school for Black children in 1850 when they were barred from attending white public schools and ran a successful dressmaking business in Windsor. Her home became a place of welcome for freedom seekers arriving through the Underground Railroad.

In 2020, the City of Windsor officially renamed a park for Mary E. Bibb Park. But it was years earlier, in 2016, that Travis began researching Bibb’s life, initially inspired by his own search for ancestral roots. Even before the park bore her name, he had begun referencing it as such during performances, unaware that a Canadian heritage plaque already acknowledged her legacy.

Local historian Irene Moore Davis echoed the urgency of restoring Bibb to public memory. “She deserves many more accolades than she has received,” she said. “Too often, women like Mary Bibb are hidden in the shadows of men. We now have the opportunity to reclaim their stories.”

With the new arch rising over the park entrance, Mary Bibb’s legacy is not only reclaimed but visibly enshrined in the heart of one of Ontario’s oldest settlements.

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