Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

MPP Jill Andrew Rides The Train with a 1,000 others The 2024 Carnival Weekend Began With a Special Underground Train Ride Stephen Weir Drummers pounded out the countdown just before midnight. It was seconds before the start of August 1st. Drones lit the sky above the Downsview subway station with hearts and words of love. Singing. Cheering. It was all part of the 11th annual Underground Freedom Train ride in Toronto. No Justin Trudeau wasn’t there, that was last year. And judging by the size of the turnout last Wednesday night, there wouldn’t have been a shoehorn big enough to squeeze him into the dedicated subway train that carried close to a thousand people from Union Station to Downsview Station to honour the Underground Railroad of the1850s and to mark the arrival of Canada’s Emancipation Day. The official launch was handled by the honourary whistle-blowing conductor, Amah Harris ( above left ). The distinguished educator, producer, mentor, playwright, and researcher led this ye

  Amah Harris will blow the whistle on the Emancipation Underground Freedom Train as  Conductor July 31st !,000 riders will get on board Conductor Amah Harris will blow the whistle as the Emancipation Underground Freedom Train lays new tracks from Union Station to Downsview Park Station. Held during Toronto's vibrant Carnival season, this annual moving event celebrates Emancipation Day by bringing together over 1,000 people in a profound display of heritage and unity. This year marks the eleventh collaboration between the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and the Blackhurst Cultural Centre, formerly known as A Different Booklist Cultural Centre. The event offers an immersive underground experience via Toronto’s subway system, symbolizing the historic underground railroad journey. Open to all Canadians, the ride costs only the price of a token, making it an accessible opportunity for reflection and celebration. The Emancipation Day "Underground Freedom Train" Ride begins on

A SHOW WORTH MISSING THE TRAIN FOR   It is really Toronto’s unknown gallery, and unless you take the special train from Union Station to the airport you probably haven’t see the new exhibition called Black Dreams and Aspiration. Too bad it is an ambitious and uplifting show that looks at the works of a dozen local Black artists. The gallery is really a large heritage hallway that links the Toronto Union Station with the Toronto Airport train platform at the east end of the train station. It is only seen by travellers passing to and from the Airport train, although you there is nothing stopping visitors from going to Union Station and walking to the east end of the building where these large and colourful works are hung. With ceilings towering some 30 feet tall, the show boasts grandeur. One striking painting by Segun Caezar, a Nigerian visual artist based in Canada, captures the essence of jazz legend John Coltrane with its bold blend of vibrant colors, simple shapes, and realism. He s

 Justin Rode That Train (we are not kidding) Photos by stephen weir and KJ Mullins I want to dispel a growing urban myth. Despite what people are saying, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did, in fact, ride the Underground Freedom Train on July 31st. The voice that they heard over the subway train’s speaker system on Monday night WAS NOT a recording of the PM’s voice; that was him in person (and I have included a picture to prove it). For the past ten years, Itah Sadu a bookstore owner, community leader, and the driving force behind the newly emerging Blackhurst Cultural Centre has spearheaded the Underground Freedom Train Ride and Emancipation ceremony in conjunction with the TTC. The late-night event provides an actual non-stop underground experience via the subway system, representing the underground railroad journey. The ride ends at Downsview Station a few minutes after midnight with an outdoor service marking the dropping of the 19th-century Emancipation Act by the British government

Conductor Jean tells fellow train riders to never give up The Honourable Jean Augustine (pictured below) probably didn't have to say anything except All-A-Board,  but a 1,000 people waiting to board the TTC Freedom Train wanted to hear what the first  Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament had to say .  Standing on steps inside Union Station she told the crowd that things are better now than during the days of Canadian slavery, but warned them there is still a long road ahead. The former politican and now community activist was the honouorary conductor of   last Sunday night's  Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride. The ride is back on track and in-person this year after being derailed for two years by Covid. The annual train ride aboard a special TTC train took some 1,000 people on a non-stop ride from Union Station to the Sheppard Station to have a midnight “happening” to mark Emancipation Day. It was a nonstop ride

Look Down The Track Senators – Wanda’s Emancipation Train Is Heading For Ottawa. By Stephen Weir Wanda Thomas Bernard at the mike Union Station Stand back  honourable members of the Senate. The Emancipation Train is heading to Ottawa and Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard is going to blow her conductor’s whistle until Canada’s Upper House listens to the voices of the Caribbean and African American communities. Dr. Bernard championed a bill proclaiming August 1 st  Emancipation Day in Canada. Even though the legislation was passed by the Liberal Government and made it through two readings in the Senate, it failed to come up for the final vote before the Senate recessed.  The bill will not be brought back for a third and final reading. At last Wednesday’s Freedom Train Ride in Toronto, the Nova Scotia senator said she is not going to give up.  Speaking to a crowd of close to 1,000 people inside TTC ‘s Union Station she told them  “I am 66 years old and I don’t have to retire (

--> Senator pledges to make August 1st National Emancipation Day across Canada   It all happened underground late last Tuesday night while most of Toronto slept. Looking out over a sea of Caribbean Canadian faces at the start of the annual Freedom Ride; Senator Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard yelled out “You should see the beautiful view from here!” The Halifax senator, one of only a few Afro-Canadians in the Upper Chamber, was a keynote speaker at the 6th annual Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train ride. She told the huge audience that she is going to work to make August 1 st a federally proclaimed national day to honour Emancipation Day.  Senator Bernard shared the microphone with the Toronto Caribbean Carnival's Rita Cox, the honourary conductor of the 2018 Freedom Train. They stood on the steps of the Rotunda inside the TTC Union Station. The pair were surrounded by people wanting to join them on a special subway train ride to mark the August 1,1834