Walking tour allows Montrealers to learn about city’s lesser-known Black history

Consider it a glimpse into Montreal’s Black history on downtown streets courtesy of Rito Joseph.

The guide offers walking tours across the city to help people discover the connection between Black history and certain areas in Montreal.

“The city has a deep history, especially Black history, that goes back at least over 300 years,” said Joseph. “And we don’t often get to hear about it.”

The walking tour is a way for Joseph to share that history with others.

“I felt that someone such as myself who is born and raised here, I just wanted to be part of the solution by showcasing some of the historical sites, events or people that live in the city of Montreal throughout the years.”

Christ Church Cathedral

One of the stops on the walking tour: Christ Church Cathedral on Sainte-Catherine Street.

“This is a congregation,” said Joseph. “It was started in Old Montreal, per se. Well, unbeknownst to a lot of people, believe it or not, this congregation, back in the 18th century after British conquest, had a lot of wedding slaves – slaves that people had at their weddings, their baptism.”

As any history lover can attest, learning about the past serves to shed light on the present, says Joseph.

“It’s a matter of understanding the chronological events that took place in order to understand this current society in which we’re in,” he said.

Inside Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Montreal in February 2023. (Credit: CityNews/Alyssia Rubertucci)

Joseph has been offering tours for the past five years. He does tours of Little Burgundy, Old Montreal and downtown, with more neighbourhoods in the works.

“Little Burgundy has to do with jazz, but it also has to do with racial discrimination. It has to do with social oppression,” said Joseph.
“As opposed to here (downtown) has more to do with institutions instead, mainstream institutions that denied access to Black people, people of African descent, and also some of the first trailblazers to have their businesses here.”

Phillips Square

To many, Phillips Square serves as a popular gathering space at the heart of downtown Montreal, surrounding by tall buildings and filled with people.

But there’s history there too, says Joseph.

“There was a club owned by a gentleman named by the name of Ben Sportsman,” he said. “He was a Black man from those days. He was kind of known around town for different reasons. I like to revisit some of that history and talk about the people that we think are not so prominent in our history and give him a spotlight.”

Joseph says it isn’t just about Black history, but local history. He wants to see it included in school curricula.

“I feel that in order for me to be rooted in the city, I would need to know about not only Black people, but I would need to know about the side of history that I’m not being taught,” he said.

“We need to know about it if we really want to understand each other and we really want to be actors of change in the future.”