A historical journey has come to an end in Dresden.
On Friday, Philadelphia native Ken Johnston completed “Our Walk to Freedom”, a 120 kilometre trek following the path of former slaves and freedom seekers from Detroit to Dresden.
Johnston, a self-proclaimed ‘walking artist’ departed from Detroit on December 26, making his way through Windsor, Essex County, Tilbury, North Buxton, and Chatham, before ending his journey at the Josiah Henson Museum of African Canadian History.
Johnston has been exploring Black mobility and community life along historic Underground Railroad routes since 2018. This is his third journey through Ontario, first travelling to St Catherines, where escaped slave Harriet Tubman arrived in 1851. He also walked from Niagara Falls to Owen Sound last summer, arriving in time to take part in the community’s Emancipation Festival.
