International Literacy Day being celebrated in Chatham-Kent

The Tri-County Literacy Network is celebrating International Literacy Day at the William Street Café at 28 William Street South in Chatham on Friday September 11, at 7 p.m. by hosting a reading for adults by guest author and presenters Bryan and Shannon Prince.

The group will also present the 2009 Tri-County Literacy Network’s Literacy Promotion Award for Chatham-Kent.

Bryan Prince is a descendent of slaves who came to Canada prior to the American Civil War. He lives with his wife and four children in Buxton – a former fugitive slave settlement (Elgin Settlement). He is a graduate of Ridgetown College (Agriculture) and of St. Clair College (Social Welfare). Bryan is a farmer with a profound interest in the history of the Underground Railroad, particularly in the Canadian involvement. He has travelled throughout North America and invested thousands of hours in researching, writing, and lecturing on this topic for over 30 years. Among his many projects, he is a director and historian with the Buxton National Site and Museum, a partner of York University’s Harriet Tubman Institute, a consulting editor with the Adam Matthew Publications digital project Slavery, Abolition, and Social Justice in England and was instrumental in the development of the Road to Freedom concert program.

In 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for contributions to history. He won the 2005 Children’s Nautilus Book Award for Non-Fiction, for his work, I Came As a Stranger: The Underground Railroad.

Bryan’s book, A Shadow on the Household, is the extraordinary story of one couple’s determination to free themselves and their children from slavery and make a new life in Canada.

Prior to abolition in 1865, as many as 40,000 men, women, and children made the perilous trip north from enslavement in the United States to freedom in Canada. Many were aided by networks that came to be known as the Underground Railroad. And the stories that emerge from the past about these journeys are truly remarkable.

In A Shadow on the Household, Bryan Prince, brings to life the heart-wrenching story of the Weems family and their struggle to liberate themselves from slavery. John Weems, a man who purchased his own freedom, paid the owner of his enslaved wife and eight children and annual fee to keep them together at one plantation. But when the owner died the Weemses were cruelly separated and scattered throughout the South. Heartbroken and desperate, John resolved to raise the money to buy his family’s freedom and reunite them. Mining newspapers, private letters, diaries, estate records, marriage registries, and abolitionist papers for details of a story cloaked in secrecy, Bryan Prince has rescued the Weems family and their plight form historical oblivion.

An unforgettable story of love and persistence, played out in four countries (the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom) against the backdrop of the publication Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a growing abolitionist movement, and the heroic efforts of the Underground Railroad, the Weems family saga must be read to be believed. Bryan and Shannon Prince will bring this story alive as part of our celebration of International Literacy Day.

Every year as part of International Literacy Day, the Tri-County Literacy Network encourages people to learn something about literacy, teach someone something about literacy and care enough to tell somebody about a literacy/upgrading program.

Literacy affects all aspects of one’s life including employment, further education, independence and coping with a rapidly changing society. Literacy skills are important in terms of finding, maintaining and advancing in employment. Literacy skills are critical for adults who wish to further their education and training to pursue a high school diploma, college program or apprenticeship. Literacy skills are important in everyday activities such as using a banking machine, reading a medicine label, writing a letter to a friend, reading to a child, reading road signs and directions as well as understanding forms and documents. Improvements in people’s literacy skills result in improvements in all these aspects of one’s life.

The Tri-County Literacy Network envisions a community in which literacy and life-long learning are highly valued.

The Tri-County Literacy Network is a non-profit organization that promotes literacy as an important part of life-long learning. We provide support to adult literacy programs and develop community partnerships with other promoters of learning in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton, and Windsor-Essex.

In Chatham-Kent there are four programs available to help adults with upgrading their essential skills including reading, writing and math skills:

• Adult Language and Learning (formerly the Chatham-Kent Council on Adult Basic Education) offers one-to-one tutoring throughout Chatham-Kent at a time and location that are convenient to both tutor and learner. A large and small group program is also available during the day in Chatham.

• The Lambton Kent District School Board, Literacy and Basic Skills program, has small groups in Blenheim and Wallaceburg that are available during the day. The program assists in upgrading for credit and employability. An eight week Computer Job Readiness program is also available in Chatham.

• The St. Clair Catholic District School Board, Literacy and Basic Skills program, offers a program for adults with developmental challenges. The program assists in employment preparation or maintenance and looks at the literacy needs that would contribute to greater independence. Daytime classes are in a small group setting in Chatham or Wallaceburg.

• St. Clair College, Thames Campus, offers academic upgrading to meet admission requirements for post secondary and apprenticeship programs.

These Employment Ontario programs are funded by the Ontario government. These programs are free of charge. Assistance with transportation and childcare may be available for participants.

There are many ways to promote literacy in your community:

• Promote reading

• Support friends who want to participate in a literacy program

• Support local literacy programs by volunteering as a tutor

• Donate money or equipment to your local literacy program

• Be informed about the literacy needs of adults in your community

• Have a guest speaker on literacy at your club or group

• Read with your child regularly

• Read a book instead of watching television

• Ensure that printed material, brochures and signs are in plain, clear language

• Spread the word about literacy programs in your area to staff, co-workers, friends, family and colleagues

• Be sensitive to people who may have difficulty reading

For further information, contact the Tri-County Literacy Network at 519-355-1771 or toll-free at 1-877-333-4833 or visit the website at www.tcln .on .ca.