Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Created the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was created by Black people, for Black people.
Had it not been for Lucie and Thornton Blackburn, those looking to escape enslavement in America, would not have had anywhere to escape to.
Both Lucie and Thornton were enslaved in Louisville, Kentucky by Judge John Pope Oldham. Lucie was said to be an extremely beautiful creole woman who was enslaved in the West Indies. Whereas Thornton, was born into American enslavement and seperated from his family at age three. The two instantly hit it off, they fell in love, and got married shortly thereafter.
Lucie was extremely beautiful, and while in the Oldham’s possession, she worked as a nursemaid. Eventually, they realized that her beauty would be of use at the Fancy Girl Market. These markets were typically held in New Orleans and Mississippi. The women who were for sale were always sold into varying forms of sexual slavery. News began to spread that Lucie was to be traded to a man who typically attended these markets. This was deeply upsetting to the Blackburns. They did not want to be separated, and they definitely did not want Lucie to be sold into sex slavery.
On July 3rd, 1831, they escaped from enslavement via steamboat. They dressed up in fancy clothes, and acquired papers which stated they were free, so they were able to travel. Their first stop was in Cincinnati, Ohio where they caught a stagecoach headed for Michigan. Once they got to Detroit, they were able to settle in, and begin living their lives as a freed couple. They quickly became a vital and important part of Detroit’s Black community.
In June of 1833, one of their former enslavers friend’s was in town, recognized Thornton and immediately relayed this news to the Oldham’s. Lucie and Thornton were tried under US Federal Law as fugitive slaves. The freed Black community was adamantly against this, yet their voices were ignored. The Blackburns were found guilty, and sentenced to lifelong enslavement in the south. Their community was not about to let this happen, and they told the courts if the Blackburns were not set free they would riot, and burn the town down. Their warnings were ignored, and the community followed through with their promise.
These events are now known as The Blackburn Riots of 1833. The first race riots to in Detroit history. On June 16th 1833, Lucie snuck out of her jail cell and was swept to safety on the Canadian side of the border. The following day, on June 17th, 1833, Thornton was taken right from the jailer’s hands and reunited with Lucie.
The Mayor of Detroit demanded that the Canadian government extradite the Blackburns to face punishment, for the crimes pertaining to stealing themselves from their enslavers. Canadian Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne did not want to do this. He told Attorney General Robert Simpson Jameson to find a legal loophole which allowed the Blackburns to remain free in Canada. At this point, enslavement was illegal in Canada, and the crimes the Blackburns were punished with were not crimes in Canada, so there was no legal basis for their extradition. This set precedent for not only other runaway slaves and their ability to escape to Canada, but it also set extradition precedent that still applies to this day.
In their years of freedom, they continued to support those traveling through the underground railroad in anyway they could. They created the first taxi company in Canadian history, and this allowed them to financially uplift their community immensely. They purchased homes and rented them out at $10 a year to those who had recently escaped enslavement. They attended conferences and spoke very publicly about the need for all Black people to be freed. They used their freedom, to help others gain their own freedom.
In an interview with Global News, Karolyn Smardz Frost said
‘These two young people, in search of freedom, changed history in both the United States and Canada’.
Had it not been for Lucie and Thornton Blackburn’s love for themselves, each other, and community; history as we know it, would look different, and not for the better.
Sources:
Thornton and Lucie Blackburn | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Parks Canada — Blackburn, Thornton and Lucie National Historic Person (pc.gc.ca)
https://www.cabbagetownpeople.ca/person/thornton-and-lucie-blackburn/
Lucie and Thornton Blackburns’ Legacy on the Waterfront | Waterfront Toronto (waterfrontoronto.ca)
