Stratford Perth Museum’s We’ve Been Here opening reception highlights local Black history

Garvia Bailey, Bryan Prince, Megan Lockhart and Megan Patterson were all part of a panel discussion for We’ve Been Here’s opening reception at the Stratford Perth Museum on Feb. 21.

The second part of the Black history exhibit at the Stratford Perth Museum launched and honoured the lives and contributions of three Black residents of Stratford.

The Stratford Perth Museum held an opening reception and panel discussion for We’ve Been Here: An Exploration of Black History in Perth County on Feb. 21. The exhibit, which can be viewed online, tells the stories of Ben Sleet, Sylvia (Young) Porter and Joseph Carter Harrison and their contributions to Stratford.

Harrison and his family ran the barber shop Joseph’s Royal Shaving Salon, which was the oldest family-run business in Stratford. Sleet was an entrepreneur who ran Sleet’s Market Refreshment Hall and brought an outdoor public skating rink and ice house to Stratford.

Porter fled from enslavement before settling in Stratford and was part of the Primitive Methodist Church. Her enslaver, Ellen T. Dustin, had a $100 reward for Porter’s return and wrote to Stratford’s Constable Townsend proposing a kidnapping plan, but she was denied on all accounts.

Garvia Bailey, community curator, led a panel discussion featuring Perth County Archives assistant Megan Lockhart, author and Buxton National Historic Site and Museum historian Bryan Prince and Stratford Perth Museum’s manager of education and exhibits lead Megan Patterson.

“It was so great, a great turnout, some people who are so interested,” Bailey said. “I could see people really imagining what this exhibit could be, how it could grow.”

The panel discussion highlighted the process of putting the exhibition together including making connections and gathering materials, forming trusting relationships, cross-referencing the stories to fact check and facing challenges such as not finding any photos of Porter nor Sleet. Bailey said it’s important to be transparent about the process.

"That is a crucial part of it because not only does this become part of the Stratford Perth Museum, the archives, and this institution, but this becomes a part of the Canadian story, right?” she said. “It is a part of Canadian history now, so making sure that each bit and each part is accurate and searchable for people is a big part of this project as well." 

Towards the end of the panel discussion, Bailey highlighted that the opening reception is also a call out invitation to encourage more people reach out to the community and find more stories of Stratford and area’s Black history.

Any stories about Black history in Stratford can be emailed to yourstory@stratfordperthmuseum.ca or shared in-person by dropping into the Stratford Perth Museum and Perth County Archives.

“If you have stories, if you want to share them, happy to collect them all. Black history is at the core of what I'm doing right now, but all kinds of history is what we're hearing and people want to share so we would love that,” Bailey said.

To view the We’ve Been Here exhibit online, visit www.stratfordperthmuseum.ca/weve-been-here/