33. A Black American Community in Canada
British Freedom and the black community nearby were clinging to more than their hardscrabble acres: they were clinging to a promise of freedom. Some even had that promise printed and signed by British Army officers on behalf of King George III, stating that the bearer was free to go where he or she chose, and to take up what occupation he or she would.
Although technically unnecessary, that piece of signed paper meant something to those who had been born slaves in America. It was, they told themselves, their just dues. Considering their services to the British Crown, it was but a fraction of the just compensation that they were owed.