Black History Project Series Phase II

Black History Project Series
Phase II
Exhibit Launch Event

We want to hear your stories about Black History, present and past.

Please email us at:yourstory@stratfordperthmuseum.ca
We'd love to hear you tell it too, consider emailing a voice memo or schedule an in-person interview with us!

Donations gratefully accepted at the door.

Event Description

An auspicious event marking the second phase of our Black History series will take place at the Stratford Perth Museum on Feb. 21 at 2:00 pm, which will launch a permanent exhibit called We’ve Been Here.  Thanks to a dynamic community curation team and the Stratford Perth Archives, we will unveil 3 large-frame images in our Indoor Co-operator’s Theatre. Each design correlates with three stories embedded in a virtual exhibit and accessed on our website, featuring the biographies of Perth County residents Ben Sleet, Joseph Harrison, and Sylvia (Young) Porter. These individuals and their families have attributed a lasting impact on the foundations of our region’s settlement through industrious economic acumen, while nurturing social resiliency for our diverse communities.

A panel discussion directed by our returning moderator and community curator, Garvia Bailey, will provide a ‘behind-the-scenes’ overview of this project and its future.  Our aim is to describe the development and process of accumulating oral and written history and how stories transform to find a home in museums. Panelists will offer insight into culture and heritage research, investigation, and how we work together to answer central and periphery questions raised about our community and its members.

Date: Feb. 21, 2026

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Price: By Donation - Members get in Free

Location: Stratford Perth Museum

Itinerary

Introductions

Unveiling

Panel Discussion

Q&A

Light Refreshments

*This is a licensed event

 

Panel

Panel Moderator

Garvia Bailey

CBC Broadcast journalist, Garvia Bailey, is a co-founder of the award-winning podcast and media company Media Girlfriends Inc., and a widely respected voice in Canadian media. Her career spans nearly two decades at CBC and JazzFM, where she worked as a producer, host, and arts columnist. She has guest-hosted CBC’s flagship arts show Q and continues to shape national conversations through her sharp storytelling and deep sense of justice.

Raised in Stratford, Garvia recently returned to her hometown and approached the Museum with a desire to contribute to its Black history initiatives. Her research has supported upcoming exhibits and may form the basis for a new audio documentary. She has collaborated closely with the Museum’s General Manager Kelly McIntosh and Education & Exhibits Lead Megan Patterson.

Panelist

Megan Lockhart

Megan Lockhart is one of the Assistant Archivists at Stratford-Perth Archives. In her role, she coordinates the Archives’ reference services and public outreach program. She typically spends her days conducting interviews with researchers, preparing records for and scheduling research appointments, completing remote research assistance, and creating and managing social media content and public outreach for the Archives, among many other tasks! Her true love, though, is reference and helping people find the missing puzzle pieces in their research projects.

Prior to joining the team at Stratford-Perth Archives in 2024, Megan worked as an Archives & Legislative Information Technician at the Oxford County Archives for 6 years, with a year long stint as a Communication Officer during the pandemic, after which she achieved an Award of Excellence for her teamwork skills. Overall, Megan has 14 years of experience in the culture & heritage field, having also previously worked in a variety of roles at the St. Marys Museum & Archives.

She’s a huge history geek with a BA in History, Fine Arts Diploma in Cultural Resource Management, a Professional Specialization Certificate in Collections Management and, most recently, obtained a Certificate in Cultural Diversity Competency. Outside of her day job, she is the Secretary of the Elgin, Oxford, Norfolk Association of Culture & Heritage Professionals, and previously served on the Executive of the provincial Municipal Archives Interest Group for 6 years.


Panelist

Bryan Prince

Bryan Prince is an author and Historian from the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum team who came forward with the essential tools for this project's investigative information and data. When we had first started this journey, Bryan had originally offered such essential content in reference to Sylvia Porter, that this would result in the basis of our research and streamline its direction.

A descendent of slaves, Bryan came to Canada prior to the American Civil War. He is a farmer with a profound interest in the history of the Underground Railroad – particularly in Canada's involvement. He is an integral member and active consultant for the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, as well as for several other organizations in Ontario and the United States examining slavery, emancipation, and the Industrial Age.  He has spent thousands of hours researching, writing, and lecturing on these topics over a period of nearly 25 years. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for contributions to history. He lives with his wife and four children in Buxton, Ontario – a former fugitive slave settlement – and is the sixth generation of his family to do so.

Panelist

Megan Patterson

Megan Patterson, Manager of Education and Exhibits Lead at the Stratford Perth Museum was raised on an equine operation, Twin Bells Ranch, in Bornholm, Ontario. She was most fortunately exposed to a unique fusion of arts and agriculture very early in life through home and travel. This ignited a passion for academia and design, which led to a Double Major in History and Studio Arts at the University of Guelph, along with a Post-Graduate Degree Certificate at Fleming College and Trent University’s Museum Curatorship Program.

Perth County’s thriving rural region inspired her desire to venture and work in the Kitchener region, Alberta, and the United States, where she was employed in various museum departments including, Curation, Education, Events, and Programs for the past 12 years. Through these experiences she was able to build meaningful relationships, learn a bit more about the world, and how to respectfully support and enrich people’s lives through museums with a focus on agriculture, Indigenous relations, minority groups, and the disenfranchised. Currently, she is absorbing the cultural vibrancy in Stratford and area, including the robust and sensational programs courtesy of our many community art hubs, while still taking time for the odd global adventure!


Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our community curators and consultants who have been committed to this truth-telling vision of inclusivity in celebration of untold stories from Stratford and Perth County.

Garvia Bailey (Community Curator)

HAUI™ (Community Curator)

Michelle Robbins and Team of the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum (Consultants)

Jade Ferguson (Historian Consultant)

Stratford Perth Archives (Consultants)


Thank You to Our Donors

KDB Law
Robert Wilhelm
Pazzo Pizzeria & Café Bouffon (Larry McCabe)
Ron Hikel & Patricia O’Malley
Tim & Tina Doherty
Mark Yakabuski


Black History Project Series

We consider this initiative to be a forever project at the museum. Our resolution of learning local Black History is ongoing and we cannot do this without our partners and donors, who are helping us address this deficit within our records. As these stories continually unfold, we ask our community members to impart their Black Heritage that contains local familial and tangible memories to aid us in our celebratory mission of bringing history to life. A principle tenant of preservation is to remind everyone, “Your Story Matters” and it would be our profound privilege to share yours. 

Please submit any related information about your local Black Heritage to yourstory@stratfordperthmuseum.ca to help us with this initiative.

For media inquiries, information, or to support this initiative, please contact:

Kelly McIntoshGeneral Manager, Stratford Perth Museumkelly@stratfordperthmuseum.ca | 416-835-1191www.stratfordperthmuseum.ca@stratfordperthmuseum on Instagram and Facebook