Mary Ann Shadd, abolitionist and first Black female newspaper publisher, included in 2024 Canada Post stamps
Mary Ann Shadd, North America’s first Black female newspaper publisher who lived in Windsor, Ont., will be featured on a stamp in 2024.
Canada Post said the stamp will be issued ahead of Black History Month as part of its 2024 lineup.
Shadd was an influential abolitionist who lived in Windsor and published The Provincial Freeman, Canada’s first anti-slavery newspaper. She was born in 1823 and in 1851, her family moved to Ontario, preparing to welcome Black people to Canada through the Underground Railroad.
She opened a school for Black and white students in Windsor on the grounds of what is now Windsor city hall.
Shadd died in June 1893 in Washington, D.C., according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Her descendants currently live in Chatham-Kent, Ont.. and in Southfield, Mich. A sculpture of Shadd was unveiled on the University of Windsor’s downtown campus in May 2022.
Canada Post stamps in 2024 will also include:
- The first stamp featuring a solar eclipse ahead of the eclipse on April 8.
- A series of stamps featuring graphic novelists.
- A wildflower stamp series in March.
- Yet-to-be-announced stamps “honouring Great Canadians and popular culture icons.”
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
