CENTRE WELLINGTON – No one would call Millicent Gordon shy.
The Jamaica-born woman, who moved from Brampton to Fergus three-and-a-half years ago, hardly met a soul her first winter in town.
And as a Black woman in a largely white town, she found herself approaching other Black people she saw in stores and out and about, introducing herself, offering her phone number and making connections.
That was the very loose beginning of what has now become the Centre Wellington Black Committee – a group of about a dozen Black people in Centre Wellington who get together for social time but also to talk about issues as they come up.
Up until now they’ve been meeting on Zoom, but they intended to hold their first in-person meeting on May 16 at the Fergus library branch, with twice-a-month meetings, from 5:30 to 7:30pm, thereafter.
And the issue on their collective minds is protecting and cleaning up Pierpoint Park, and suitably honouring Richard Pierpoint, a former slave who fought for the British army in the War of 1812, was granted some land in this area as a reward, and formed the first Black settlement in Wellington County on the eastern edge of what is now Fergus.
“We want to re-establish the impact of Black settlers here,” she said in an interview. “It’s almost been lost due to revisionist history.
“History is full of ups and downs, but to cover it up is not good. We have to tell the whole truth, even if it’s uncomfortable to hear.”
Gordon said the current state of Pierpoint Park is “deplorable, and that’s an injustice to him.”
The committee hopes to rally with others in the community who are interested in this project. But it also wants to build connections and to advocate for Black youth facing discrimination.
Gordon said she hasn’t faced discrimination in this community herself, but it’s always an issue, and it’s especially difficult for young people to know how to react and where to go to report it.
She’s also had a few conversations with the Guelph Black Heritage Society and hopes to strengthen that alliance. But the big thing the Centre Wellington group hopes to do this year is host a cultural event to celebrate and showcase vast and varying Black culture – from the Caribbean to Africa and beyond.
They applied for a grant from the township and if successful, the event will be held on Labour Day weekend.
“There are highly different cultures that we’ll showcase with songs, dance and food. We want to educate a lot of people,” Gordon said.
“I know there’s a lot of Scottish heritage here. I think we can all find common ground in this oasis we live in.”
The group’s slogan is “stepping forward” and it hopes to be a positive presence in the community.
The group has a Facebook page and can also be reached at cwblackcommittee@gmail.com.
