“Blackhurst” Street is one of Toronto’s most notable Black hubs in the heart of the city.
Located in the Annex neighbourhood at Bathurst and Bloor streets, the community has a rich history dating back to the 1860s.
The area came to be after Deborah Brown, a former enslaved woman, escaped from the United States with her husband to what was then “Upper Canada,” via the Underground Railway, according to Destination Toronto. They settled at 691 Markham Street.
In the 1950s, Jamaican and other Caribbean immigrants started to arrive in Toronto. They settled and opened shops and businesses, cementing “Blackhurst” as a cultural community for Afro-Caribbean people.
Today, it remains a cultural landmark and a safe space for Black families and Black-owned businesses to live, grow and thrive.
A Different Booklist is an independently owned bookstore that serves as a cultural centre in the area, located at 779 Bathurst Street. For over 20 years, its mission has been to house new and classic novels from the African and Caribbean diaspora, and host community events.
“Blackhurst” was also home to Canada’s first Black postman in 1882, Albert Jackson. In 2017, Heritage Toronto placed a plaque honouring Jackson at 26 Lombard St., the old Toronto General Post Office where Jackson would begin his mail route.
Many residents have raised concerns about the area being gentrified after the loss of several Black-owned businesses. Even though Blackhurst holds such historical significance, its precarious state is a result of gentrification and the city’s overlooking of the cultural hub altogether.
