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 explore who the porters were, where they came from, and how they found themselves on the rails. (Episode 2 trailer) 

Transcript

Narrator Biographies