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ARTICLE · 27 JANUARY 2022

Our Ancestors Did Not Dream About Us Burning Out

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I am a descendent of the Underground Railroad. My ancestors were captured by enslavers and made to labour on American plantations. Our collective existence was sustained by their unknown courage.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Rebecca Amoah
Rebecca Amoah
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I am a descendent of the Underground Railroad. My ancestors were captured by enslavers and made to labour on American plantations. Our collective existence was sustained by their unknown courage. Many died chasing and reclaiming their freedom.

My father immigrated to Canada from Ghana, West Africa. He and my mother are entrepreneurs with little formal education. Growing up, I did not know poverty but I knew that our family's financial survival depended on what my parents earned selling the products they handcrafted at markets and trade shows. I worked to support my family business from the time I was 9.

Hard work and collectivism are inseparable from my Black African identity.

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