Porter Talk: Episode 1 trailer
Discover Library and Archives Canada presents “Porter Talk.” This mini-series explores the lived experiences of Black men who laboured as porters for both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways during the twentieth century.
Stanley G. Grizzle, a Canadian Pacific Railway porter for twenty years as well as a celebrated activist, civil servant, and citizenship judge, was also an avid historian who went to great lengths to document and preserve Black History in Canada and beyond. His collection is now held at Library and Archives Canada. Join us as we delve into the life of the man who recorded the stories of the porters working on the rails. (Episode 1 trailer)
Duration: 2:01
File size: 2.2 MB Download
MP3
Publish Date: August 22, 2024
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Transcript of Porter Talk trailer
CNR Promotional Recording: “Life on the train is fun and comfortable for these modern explorers, whether it’d be just watching the scenery glide by or keeping in touch with the outside world.”
Sound of record swiping
Stanley Grizzle: … [W]hy did you come to Canada?
Aurelius Bennett: To-to escape uh, discrimination.
Mel Grayson: … When I came outta high school and started looking for a job, I found that there weren’t any jobs to be found.
Raymond Lewis: … [W]e had so many men with … many years of college and even with the diplomas sticking out of their hip pockets still shaking those sheets.
Helen Wachter: … There was nothing else for the men to do except railroad. And the conditions under which they had to do it were so abominable.
Joseph M. Sealy: … [W]e were going from Montreal to Vancouver, working twenty-one hours a day … And that was inhuman.
George Forray: … I mean, they could bulldoze a-a porter ‘cause you were just part of the-the, uh, equipment … As long as the cars rolled, we rolled. No rights.
Sound of steam engine
Narration by Richard Provencher: Discover Library and Archives Canada presents “Porter Talk.” This mini-series explores the lived experiences of Black men who laboured as porters for both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways during the twentieth century. Their voices, along with those of their wives and children, relay stories of both hardship and resilience.
Melvin Crump: … You mean porter talk? … well, uh, they had a language all of their own, I’ll tell ya …
Narration by Richard Provencher: You can subscribe to Discover Library and Archives Canada wherever you get your podcasts.
Host:
Richard Provencher, Chief, Media Relations, Communications and Policy Branch
Featuring the voices of:
Cecil Foster, Saje Mathieu, Steven High, Dorothy Williams, and Stanley Edwin Grizzle Jr.
Voiceover for the French version of this podcast trailer:
Lerntz Joseph and Euphrasie Mujawamungu
Narrator biographies
Dr. Cecil Foster, is a prolific writer and journalist who holds a PhD from York University.
Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Department of Transnational Studies at the University of
Buffalo. Dr. Foster’s work has long focused on multiculturalism in Canada and the role of race in
this policy. His most recent book, They Called Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train
Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada, tells the story of the first delegation of Black Canadians
to meet with members of the federal Cabinet to discuss Canada’s discriminatory immigration
practices. This trip, rooted in a long history of porter activism, paved the way for changes to the
nation’s immigration policies, as well as those related to labour and human rights.
Stanley Edwin Grizzle Jr is the son of Stanley G. Grizzle and the fourth of seven children in the
Grizzle family. A successful entrepreneur and innovator, his father’s activism and drive for change
has long inspired and captivated him. Mr. Grizzle Jr. is also a talented musician in his own right, a
hobby that found inspiration in the time he spent with his father. Now retired, he continues to find
solace in nature, exploring the outdoors with a paddle in hand.
Dr. Steven High is a Full Professor of History at Concordia University; he also founded the Centre
for Oral History and Digital Storytelling there. He holds a PhD in Canadian History from the
University of Ottawa. Dr. High’s most recent award-winning book, Deindustrializing Montreal:
Entangled Histories of Race, Residence, and Class, tells the story of two neighbourhoods, one
predominantly white and the other black, situated in Montreal’s southwest district
Dr. Saje Mathieu is a Full Professor of History at Concordia University; he also founded the Centre
for Oral History and Digital Storytelling there. He holds a PhD in Canadian History from the
University of Ottawa. Dr. High’s most recent award-winning book, Deindustrializing Montreal:
Entangled Histories of Race, Residence, and Class, tells the story of two neighbourhoods, one
predominantly white and the other black, situated in Montreal’s southwest district.
Dr. Dorothy Williams holds a PhD in Library and Information Sciences from McGill University
and currently works as a researcher at Concordia University within its Quebec English-Speaking
Communities Research Network. She was bestowed a CBC Black Changemaker Award in 2022
and a Library and Archives Canada Scholar Award in 2023. In spring 2024, she was accorded the
Ordre de Montréal, the city’s highest honour for outstanding contributions made to the city’s
development and renown, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from the Université du Québec à
Montréal. Dr. Williams’ books, Blacks in Montreal: 1628–1986 and The Road to Now: A History
of Blacks in Montreal, are classics in the fields of Black studies and Black history in Canada. Dr.
Williams is also a pedagogical pioneer who has long contributed to the development of curriculum
pertaining to Black history in Canada, as well as a community knowledge keeper. The archival
collection she cares for in her home is one of the most extensive existing archives to document
Black experience in Montreal.
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