Wendell Gibbs

Wendell Gibbs: Its what you would expect of a Sunday service at the end of February for a predominantly black congregation. But the church itself has a special place historically in Toronto as the site of one of the first places of worship for those early slaves who had made their way north to freedom in the early 1800s. , according to CBC. We are celebrating our heritage, we are excited for what our forefathers have done for us in the previous generation the struggle for freedom and the Underground Railroad that Washington Christian, our founder, came through. But the plight for his goal for a ministry wasnt about our blackness, said Gibbs. Pastor Wendell Gibbs speaks to a full house at Toronto's First Baptist Church during its annual Black History Month celebration. The congregation sings songs like We shall overcome and My chains are gone while the children take turns later asking the elders about their experiences as black Canadians over the years. But as Canada wraps up Black History Month at the end of this week, historians, community leaders and others are expressing mixed thoughts on the effectiveness of the now almost 20-year-old celebration. Though each agrees that the focus on the past should ultimately be a way of looking for a better future. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.