Rosemary Sadlier

port of harlem gambian education partnership

Rosemary Sadlier
Canadian Black History Historian
(19?? - )
Canada

Toronto’s Rosemary Sadlier traces her Canadian roots to 1783 when her father’s ancestors arrived in then British controlled New Brunswick as Black Loyalists who fled the USA during the British-American conflicts. Her mother’s ancestors arrived around 1840 via the Underground Railroad from, most likely, Virginia, USA.

As president of the Ontario Black History Society (1993 to 2015), Sadlier collaborated with the Historica Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Encyclopedia to create the Black History Canada web site. Sadlier also contributed to Canadian Black history being recognized through research, writings, exhibits, and outreach programs. Her advocacy was central to the Canadian government’s 1995 decision to make February Black History Month an annual celebration and its decision in 2021, to designate August 1, Emancipation Day, a day of national commemoration.

"When working with 'non-models,' I invite my subjects to take their spot, instead of trying to pose them. I see how they stand naturally and make a few adjustments. From there, I engage them in a conversation that usually relaxes them. Often, I make them laugh, which always leads to a smile and the revelation of their personalities; then I captured their full image."

- Photographer Lawrence E. Kerr

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