Harper calls for unity during Black History Month talk at Old Fort Erie

Lezlie Harper delivered a passionate and personal Black History Month presentation at Old Fort Erie on Saturday, weaving together family history, local landmarks and a call for unity as part of Niagara Parks’ February programming.

Harper, owner of Niagara Bound Tours, spoke at the visitor centre theatre as part of Niagara Parks’ Black History Month speaker series, first announced in a January media release.

“This is my first talk this year,” Harper told the crowd, dedicating the presentation to her late mother on the 40th anniversary of her passing. “I’m dedicating this talk to her.”

Harper, now in her 22nd year of leading Black history tours, described her work as both educational and personal, rooted in stories passed down by her uncle Charles Preston “Kit” Bright and other relatives whose ancestors settled in Fort Erie after fleeing slavery in the United States.

She revisited familiar local sites, including the Freedom Park area along the Niagara River, the Coloured Cemetery and Lavinia Street, where her great-grandmother once lived. Harper urged residents to preserve the cemetery’s historic name, noting it reflected the language used by earlier generations.

“That was his frame of reference,” she said of her uncle. “Please, Fort Erie, don’t ever take away Uncle Kit’s legacy.”

Harper also recounted the story of Josiah Henson, who briefly lived in Fort Erie after crossing the river to freedom before settling in Dresden. Henson, whose life inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ witnessed the brutal beating of his father as a child but went on to become a preacher, community leader and internationally recognized abolitionist.

“If you want to call me Uncle Tom, please do,” Harper said. “I wear it as a badge of honour.”

Throughout the hour-long presentation, Harper emphasized resilience and pride over victimhood.

“What I choose to do is celebrate the fact that these people and those that came before got through it,” she said. “That’s what our kids need to hear.”

She also reflected on speaking to incarcerated youth in Ontario, saying many had never been told “it’s okay to be Black in Canada.”

“That’s a part of why I do what I do,” Harper said.

Saturday’s event followed earlier Black History Month programming by Niagara Parks, including a soul-jazz evening at Table Rock House Restaurant and additional speaker sessions highlighting Black history along the Niagara River corridor.

Following Harper’s talk, Niagara Parks CEO David Adames told Fort Erie Radio the organization will continue historical programming at Old Fort Erie through the spring.

Adames said Niagara Parks will host monthly lectures from March through June exploring the 1764 fort and its role during the broader era of revolution.

“It’s the oldest British fort in Ontario,” Adames said of the 1764 site.

Harper encouraged residents to attend those upcoming sessions and continue engaging with the region’s layered history.

“For so many years, for my whole life here, we were basically invisible,” she told the audience. “We want to be a part of this country, not apart from.”

The event drew residents from across Fort Erie and the Niagara region, many staying afterward to ask questions and share their own family stories.

Stay Informed

Events, offers, contests, and breaking news, all delivered straight to your inbox.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Subscribe