Black History Month: The unknown story of Toronto’s first black postman

When Albert Jackson showed up for his first day of work as a mailman, on May 17, 1882, the other letter carriers refused to show him the rounds. The reason: He was black.

The incident was reported by the press, which wrote about “the obnoxious coloured man.” White letter carriers and office staff were indignant that a black man was appointed to the job, which placed him in a higher rank than some white employees.

The postal service reassigned Jackson to the menial job of hall porter, hoping to defuse the situation. It didn’t.
For several weeks, the story of Toronto’s first black postman was hotly debated in the city’s newspapers. On Jackson’s first day of work, white mail carriers told The Evening Telegram his appointment by the government was “a most impolitic move.”

Toronto’s black community was galvanized into action and supported Jackson, a former child slave from the United States who had escaped to Canada along the Underground Railroad.

They were determined to see Jackson working his mail route and took their demands to John A. Macdonald, the prime minister. It was an election year, and they were heard. Wanting to please black voters, Macdonald intervened.

Read the rest at The Toronto Star