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Article: Woman finds part of self in Canada, where blacks share in painful past.
- Article from:
- Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI)
- Article date:
- February 21, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Detroit Free Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Desiree Cooper
DETROIT _ Barbara Hughes Smith was raised on fairy tales.
Growing up in Detroit, she'd heard stories about her ancestors, enslaved Africans who had escaped the South and come North in search of a better life. That search eventually took them across the border to Canada, where Smith's great-great-great uncle Anthony Binga ministered to the former slaves in Amherstburg, 18 miles south of Windsor.
After the Civil War, many of Binga's offspring returned to America. Others, wedded to the land that had sheltered them against the ravages of American slavery, stayed in Canada. In that way, Binga's family _ along with many other ...