JOSIAH

Josiah Henson was brutally enslaved for forty-one years and escaped, with his family, from Kentucky to Ontario Canada in 1830. This is the story of Josiah’s life as an enslaved person and the inescapable adversity that that he endured throughout his life. Subjected to the inhumanity of slavery and against overwhelming odds, he managed to embody the best qualities of character, integrity, resilience, faith, and determination to eventually triumph as a community and religious leader, an educator, a conductor on the Underground Railroad and an advocate for freedom. In Canada, he went on to establish a northern destination for the Underground Railroad at the Dawn Settlement, near Chatham, Ontario. He published his best-selling autobiography in 1849 and his story formed the basis of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, which was the best selling book of the 19th century. The public outcry influenced Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Declaration which led to the American Civil War and the end of slavery in the United States. Yet, despite his immense contributions, Josiah Henson has been largely uncelebrated in Canadian history.

Josiah contains offensive language and depictions of violence which may be disturbing to some viewers. They are relevant to the historic authenticity of the period.

Run Time: approx. 2 hours. Includes intermission.