Thousand set to ride the Freedom Train with Senator Bernard

Ride the Night Train, July 31st for August 1 Emancipation Ceremony

By Stephen Weir

The Honourable Wanda Thomas Bernard – Senator from Nova Scotia (East Preston) is coming back to Toronto next week to blow the whistle on Toronto’s Underground. Back for the second time to help out with the annual July 31^st train ride, this year the senator will be the conductor.

As the Conductor she will welcome over one thousand people onboard Toronto’s Underground Freedom Train, leaving Union subway station in celebration of Emancipation Day on July 31^st. The riders will be riding in a special TTC subway train on a non-stop ride to the Sheppard St West subway station.

Senator Wanda Bernard

The Hon. Wanda Thomas Bernard – Senator from Nova Scotia (East Preston), recipient of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, and a highly regarded social worker, educator, researcher, community activist and social change advocate was a guest speaker last year at last year’s ride.  She says is already getting ready to blow her whistle and yell “All Aboard the Freedom Train” as Toronto gets set to mark Emancipation Day. For the seventh year in a row the special midnight Red Rocket will take hundreds of people to Sheppard West on July 31^st to celebrate the August 1^st date.

It all begins July 31st at 10:45pm at Toronto’s Union subway station. “We will be boarding the Underground Freedom Train at 11:30pm and travelling straight to Sheppard West subway station (previously Downsview station), arriving there at 12:15am on August 1st,” explained organizer Itah Sadu. “The date is internationally acclaimed as Emancipation Day”. 

“This year’s seventh annual Freedom Train ride will be an incredible journey and experience about the Underground Railroad and the history of Emancipation Day”. Opening ceremonies will begin at 10:45pm at Union subway station and half-an-hour later Senator Bernard will give the call to board the train.”

TTC Volunteer Driver. 

People will gather by the Brookfield Rotunda TTC entrance on the main floor of Union Station. Last year over 1,000 people took the train to Sheppard West Station to recognize the brave people who travelled the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada and then celebrate Emancipation Day.

As people board the train there will be drumming, spoken word and songs will be sung, along with a tribute to the resilience of the many who travelled along the Underground Railway, seeking freedom in Canada. During the ride there will be a moment of silence called over the train’s intercom.

Notables confirmed to participate during the Freedom Train Ride include:

• George Elliott Clarke - Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the 2016-2017 Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate
• Michael Thompson - City Councilor and Toronto Deputy Mayor
• Tiki Mercury Clarke – One of the all-time greatest Canadian jazz artists
• Adisa S. Oji – recipient of the Community Resilience award
• Also in attendance will be special guests from Buffalo and Albany in New York and also the Toronto African Drumming Collective.

Everyone is welcome to join us on this Underground Freedom Train Ride to celebrate Emancipation Day. People will need a regular TTC ticket for admission and come prepared for being part of a very unique subway ride. Seventh annual Underground Freedom Train Ride t-shirts are available for purchase at A Different Booklist store, prior to the ride. Further information - available at A Different Booklist 416-538-0889 or by following on twitter @FreedomTrainTOR.