This Heritage Minute celebrates the iconic soul singer Jackie Shane. Jackie Shane was a Toronto-based soul-singer from Nashville performing on the Yonge Street strip in the 1960s. She left her mark with her hit “Any Other Way” as a local favourite throughout the decade and as an originator of the R&B music scene known as the Toronto Sound.
As a Black transgender performer, she faced many adversities but found her calling on stage where she felt more free to share her true self. Her unapologetic and authentic presence made her an enduring queer icon in Toronto and beyond.
For more information on Jackie Shanet, Visit The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Chloe Cooley was an enslaved Black woman in Upper Canada in the late 18th century. Under the watchful eye of estate owner Adam Vrooman, Chloe engaged in acts of resistance however she could: by refusing to work or temporarily leaving the property without permission. With rumours of abolition circulating, Vrooman and his men kidnapped Chloe on March 14, 1793, and violently forced her on a boat across the Niagara River to the United States. There, he believed he could still profit from what he considered his investment. Witnesses, including the free man Peter Martin, later testified to Chloe’s resistance in the face of her violent removal, leading to Canada’s first legislation limiting slavery. Despite this, slavery in Canada was not abolished until 1834.
For more information about Chloe Cooley, please visit The Canadian Encyclopedia.
She oversaw Canada’s production of Hawker Hurricane aircrafts at the Canadian Car & Foundry factory during the Second World War. Hawker Hurricanes were one of the main fighters flown by Canadian and Allied airmen in the Battle of Britain. This Heritage Minute follows Elsie MacGill in her role as chief engineer overseeing the production of these instrumental aircrafts.
For more information about Elsie MacGill, please visit The Canadian Encyclopedia.
