Illuminating two hundred years of lost Black History through the lens of an iconic abolitionist settlement

In the Light of Dawn shines a spotlight on the Dawn Settlement, a historic abolitionist community in rural Ontario led by Reverend Josiah Henson (the real “Uncle Tom” of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark anti-slavery novel), and reveals how the town’s scope and impact eclipses previously narrow interpretations as a “failed” utopian colony at a terminus of the Underground Railroad.

Along a 200-year continuum of resistance and contribution, Dawn’s history (and that of its residents) often intersects with pivotal international events and, beyond Henson, features important abolitionist figures like Fredrick Douglass and Civil Rights movement figures like Rosa Parks. Activism from 19th-century Pennsylvania’s Black Elite and other major American centres runs like a golden thread through successive generations in Dawn, resulting in landmark actions such as the challenge to segregation of private businesses and publicly funded schools.

Far from being a failed colony, the Dawn Settlement emerges here as a vibrant community whose residents drove wider societal change. In the Light of Dawn presents an expansive yet nuanced account of a small rural town that challenges traditional notions of Black History and the contributions of early Black pioneers, leaving behind an enduring legacy.

Marie Carter is a lifelong resident of Dresden, Ontario, where she researches and writes about the history of her community, the former Dawn Settlement area. Her eclectic career has included graphic artist, reporter-photographer for community newspapers and church press, and rural organizer of outreach to migrant agricultural workers.

Marie Carter's profile page

Dr. Afua Cooper is an award-winning historian, author, and poet. She is professor of Black studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dalhousie University where she holds a Killam Research Chair. Afua has mobilized Black studies in Canada through her scholarly work, and artistic endeavours—this within the academy and beyond. She established the Black Studies program at Dalhousie, first as a minor, and later as part of the leadership team that launched the Bachelor of Arts in Black and African Diaspora Studies. This is the first such program in Canada. Dr. Cooper also founded the Black Canadian Studies Association. She was awarded the Royal Society of Canada’s J.B. Tyrrell Historical medal for her outstanding contribution to Canadian history. Afua is the Principal Investigator for A Black People’s History of Canada project.

Afua Cooper's profile page

“Carter’s work traces the detailed contours of a complex Black abolitionist community, extending the analysis through the 20th century to make an important contribution to an understudied period in Black Canadian history.” —Nina Reid-Maroney, author of The Reverend Jennie Johnson and African Canadian History, 1868-1967

“Scholars have long viewed the Dawn Settlement as a failed venture, but in Carter’s analysis it gains its rightful place alongside Buxton and St. Catherines, Canada West. Bridging 200 years of history, In the Light of Dawn combines social, community, and personal history to build a bridge between past and present.” —dann j. Broyld, author of Borderland Blacks

“Carter places Dresden’s Black community in their rightful place as vibrant contributors to Canada’s rich Black history.” —Deirdre McCorkindale, University of Guelph

“Carter provides comprehensive insights into the development and evolution of a historical Black community. A welcome addition to the field of African Canadian historiography.” —Natasha Henry-Dixon, York University