Sleeping Car Porters

(Posted Feb 14, 2025)

Sleeping Car Porters were attendants on the railway serving passengers aboard sleeping cars. They assisted passengers with luggage, serving food and beverages, setting up beds and other services to provide a comfortable stay aboard the train. These workers were predominantly Black and one of the few occupations available to Black Men in Canada. The Porters worked long hours with little compensation, often subject to racism, and could be fired without notice or reason. In 1917 they formed the first railway union in North America to secure improved working conditions. 


Rita Cox, TPL Librarian

(Posted Feb 14, 2025)

Appointed head of the TPL Parkdale branch in 1972 and the following year (1973) began collecting Caribbean focused books from Jamaica, Trinidad and more, eventually expanding to include African and African American. As of 2006 the collection holds 16,000 books, DVDs, CDs, newspapers, and magazines. Rita was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada and a published author.

Mathieu DaCosta

(Posted Feb 14, 2025)

First known person of African descent to visit Canada. It is likely that he was in the company of Pierre Deguade Mons and Sameul de Champlain acting as an interpreter. Mathieu was a free man who worked with Dutch and French traders in the 1th century, and later as an interpreter between traders and Indigenous people in eastern Canada. It’s believed that he used pidgin to communicate with Mi’kmaq and Innue on the east coast. 

Message to the Membership

(posted Feb 9, 2025)

OPSEU local 596 will be celebrating the rich history and contributions of Black Canadians from the Caribbean Diaspora, to contributions to labour and education, and our intersection with the Indigenous community. Each week in  February we’ll post about the history makers of Canada.

Black History month was created by Carter G. Woodson (pictured left), a historical scholar and author, established February 1976.


Born to former slaves, Carter was largely self taught, only entering highschool at the age of 20. During his younger years he worked on his family’s farm and even worked in the coal mines of West Virginia.


Eventually earning a degree in literature he worked as a teacher throughout Eurpope and Asia. He further pursued academics not only earning a master’s but becoming the second Black American (after W.E.B DuBois) to obtain a PHd from Harvard University. 


After struggling with the academic institutions Carter G. Woodson determined that Black History would have to be researched and taught by Black Americans. In 1915 he established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and later, the Journal for African American History. 

In 1926 he launched Negro History week coinciding with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. 


For more on Carter G. Woodson and Black History Month click here

Looking for Past Postings...

(All website postings are archived here.)