Downtown Yonge East in Toronto, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Albert Jackson
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2022
1. Albert Jackson Marker
Born into slavery in Delaware during the late 1850s, Albert Jackson became the first Black letter carrier in Toronto and one of the few people of colour to be appointed a civil servant in 19th-century Canada.
Jackson's mother, Ann Maria, escaped from the United States to Canada with the help of the Underground Railroad network after two of her sons were sold and her husband died of grief. In 1858, Ann Maria and seven children arrived in Toronto where Albert, a toddler at the time, grew up and was educated.
Jackson was appointed a letter carrier on May 12, 1882. Because of racial discrimination, white postal workers refused to train Albert to deliver mail so his supervisor assigned him to an indoor position as a hall porter instead.
Toronto's Black community organized support for Jackson, arranging a public meeting and creating a committee to advocate for him. A heated debate ensued in the press about his appointment, during which he was supported by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald who was courting Black voters. Jackson began his training on June 2, 1882; he worked at the post office for 36 years, until his death in 1918.
The Toronto General Post Office stood on this site from 1873 to 1958, and it was here that Jackson picked up mail for delivery along his routes.
Erected
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Postal Mail and Philately series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 12, 1882.
Location. 43° 39.086′ N, 79° 22.589′ W. Marker is in Toronto, Ontario. It is in Downtown Yonge East. Marker is at the intersection of Lombard Street and First Lane East, on the left when traveling west on Lombard Street. Marker is located beside the sidewalk on the north side of the State Street Financial Centre. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 30 Adelaide Street East, Toronto ON M5C 3G9, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Toronto's Eighth Post Office (here, next to this marker); Adelaide Street Court House (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Excelsior Life Building (about 90 meters away); Consumers' Gas 150th Anniversary (about 120 meters away); Consumers' Gas Company Building (about 120 meters away); York Mechanics' Institute (about 120 meters away); St. James Parking Garage (about 150 meters away); York's Second Jail (about 150 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Toronto.
Regarding Albert Jackson.
Courtesy Lawrence Jackson
2. Marker detail: Albert Jackson Family
Albert Jackson and his family in the 1890s. He married Toronto-born Henrietta Elizabeth Jones on March 5, 1883, and they had four sons: Alfred, Bruce, Richard, and Harold. At the time of this photograph, the family was living in St John's Ward in downtown Toronto, home to many people who had arrived on the Underground Railroad before the American Civil War. When Albert died, they were living near College and Bathurst Streets, a neighbourhood that was becoming a centre of Black life in the city.
(From Toronto Star, July 21, 2017) New plaque celebrates Albert Jackson, Toronto’s first Black postman. Albert Jackson overcame racial discrimination to become the city’s first black postman in 1882. A new Heritage Toronto plaque celebrating the life of Albert Jackson — an escaped slave who overcame racial discrimination to become the city’s first Black letter carrier in 1882 — was officially unveiled Friday. “Today we have Black judges and lawyers and doctors... there always has to be a beginning,” said Lawrence Jackson, Albert’s last surviving grandchild. “He did cross the colour barrier. And that made us so very, very proud.”
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Albert Jackson.
(Link includes image of 2019 Albert Jackson commemorative postage stamp.) Albert Jackson was one of nine children born to Ann Maria Jackson in Delaware. Jackson and his family were enslaved, and when Albert was still a toddler, his older brothers, James and Richard, were sold. After she learned that more of her children might be sold, Ann Maria escaped enslavement in Delaware with seven of her children. They first arrived in Philadelphia, where they were helped by William Still, an African-American abolitionist who ran a station(Submitted on March 7, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)of the Underground Railroad.Toronto Public Library3. Marker detail: Albert JacksonAlbert Jackson in his letter carrier uniform, date unknown.
2. Albert Jackson.
Albert Jackson was the first Black Canadian mail carrier in Toronto. Jackson faced discrimination when he started his position in 1882 and was reassigned as mail porter. When the decision was reversed by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald in order to win votes for the 1882 Canadian federal election, Jackson continued his mail carrier career from 1882 until his 1918 death. In 2013, a street in Toronto's Harbord Village was named Albert Jackson Lane in honour of Jackson. Other posthumous honors include a Heritage Toronto plaque in 2017 and a Canada Post stamp in 2019.(Submitted on March 7, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Courtesy McCord Museum, MP 0000.25.168
4. Marker detail: General Post Office
The General Post Office in the 1890s, at the top of Toronto Street. After the building was torn down in 1958, its coat of arms was placed here, at the rear of the building that replaced it.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2022
5. Albert Jackson Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on March 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 6, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 70 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 6, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 7, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
