09/19/2026
Via Lynn Jones!
September is International Underground Railroad Month!
Join the Amherstburg Freedom Museum on Tuesday, September 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time for the next event in our Virtual Black History Series. Dr. Carolyn G. Thomas will share insights from her research on the Underground Railroad to Nova Scotia. To join, visit 5801f5af-17a9-42cc-be30-27f990fb9f69@584fc4c6-8e41-4195-bfb1-da3230d60383" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5801f5af-17a9-42cc-be30-27f990fb9f69@584fc4c6-8e41-4195-bfb1-da3230d60383
Canaan. Heaven. The Land of Freedom. During the height of the slave trade and the abolitionist movement, these were codewords for Canada. It was the promised land for thousands of freedom seekers who dared to dream of a life beyond bo***ge. With the help of the conductors of the Underground Railroad and the guidance of the drinking gourd in the night sky, the passengers found their way north. Nova Scotia, where Dr. Carolyn G. Thomas grew up, was a terminus of the Underground Railroad. Carolyn remembers her father pointing up at the North Star when she asked him how her family came to Nova Scotia. Many in the rural communities of Nova Scotia had ancestors who traveled the Underground Railroad. For the first time, Carolyn has collected stories and is sharing the fascinating history of formerly enslaved people who found the freedom they were looking for in Nova Scotia.
Dr. Carolyn G. Thomas is a lifelong resident of East Preston, Nova Scotia, Canada where generations of her family have lived. She is internationally recognized as an acclaimed historian, lecturer, human rights advocate/activist, and author of The Underground Railroad to Nova Scotia. Carolyn was a founding member of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission whose life’s work has centered around championing justice as well as economic and community development as Chairperson of the Nova Scotia Advisory Committee on Race Relations, Governor of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Governor of the Canadian Centre on Police-Race Relations, past Moderator/President of the African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia, and more. Carolyn holds a BA from St. Mary's University as well as an honorary Doctor of Divinity conferred by Acadia University. She was invested into the Order of Nova Scotia in 2026. Carolyn is a mother of four and grandmother to two grandchildren.
Note: Dr. Thomas' book The Underground Railroad to Nova Scotia is available in the Museum Gift Shop. Supporters outside the Windsor-Essex area, please contact us for information about how to order it online.
