By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
When he was a Grade 8 student at Chatham’s Queen Elizabeth II Public School, Drew Robinson asked for his mother’s help to write a history essay. Piqued by a historical plaque about abolitionist John Brown located in the city’s east side, the youth decided to write about Black history.
However, the mother-son duo soon found out there was a dearth of information on the topic. In turn, that launched Gwen Robinson’s journey as a historian who filled in a critical gap in Chatham-Kent’s history.
“She was 519-Call-Gwen,” Drew, now 72, told the crowd that gathered at the W.I.S.H. Centre May 23 to honour his 94-year-old mother’s storied accomplishments as a writer, researcher and historian.
“She blessed the community and blessed our family,” the retired assistant U.S. District Attorney added, noting his mother was helping people discover their roots long before Ancestry.com became available.
Drew said that while the essay was the start, his determined mother “wouldn’t let it go.” Gwen began chronicling the dramatic story of the Underground Railroad, detailing the important contributions escaped slaves made to build Chatham-Kent.
As part of their initial research, mother and son uncovered the story of Brown’s ties to Chatham. The abolitionist planned his ill-fated raid on a federal U.S. arsenal in Chatham and is said to have recruited locals. But the 1859 raid at Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia failed. Brown was arrested, tried and hanged for his attempt to supply munitions to enslaved Blacks in the hope it would spark an uprising against slavery.
His death as a martyr became a flashpoint for the anti-slavery movement.
In feting Gwen, Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society vice-president Tracey Travis said Robinson’s work filled in a “blank space” in Chatham-Kent’s history.
“It was her hope to shed some light on an important portion of history, which is conspicuous in its absence from most of today’s history books,” Travis explained, adding that at one point in the 19th Century, Chatham’s population was close to 35 per cent Black. Many Black citizens of the era held prestigious positions within the community.
“Gwen’s mind is a walking library of Black history of this area and is a treasure of our community,” Travis explained. “And we thank her.”
Born in Chatham to parents Charles and Constance Robbins in 1932, Robinson received her early education at North Buxton School, and at Merlin High School and Chatham Collegiate Institute. She married Canadian postal employee John Robinson, and together they had five sons, Brad, Drew, Brent, Mitchell and Scott. Prior to her role as a historian, Gwen was a home maker and hair dresser.
As she became immersed in the subject, Robinson’s voluminous research resulted in the 1994 publication of Seek the Truth: A Story of Chatham’s Black Community, and later The Greater Journey. She’s also credited with twinning the community of Harper’s Ferry with Chatham in 2003. To date, historians in both communities continue the collaboration.
Robinson’s accolades and awards are many. They include the Sertoma Service to Mankind Award, 1999-2000; the prestigious Griot Award for outstanding volunteer services; the Sertoma Service to Mankind Award for 1999-2000; and the Chatham and District Chamber of Commerce “Citizen of the Year” Award in 2006.
In 2007, Robinson launched the Promised Land Project: The Freedom Experience of Blacks in Chatham‑Kent, and the same year received the Kent Agricultural Society Hall of Fame Award. In 2009, she helped create Chatham’s BME Freedom Park on the site of one of Canada’s first churches built in 1857 by formerly enslaved people.
She’s also credited as being instrumental in founding the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and the Black Mecca Museum at the W.I.S.H. Centre. The Gwendolyn Robinson Research Centre at the museum bears her name.
Another highlight of Gwen’s role as a historian was an invitation to the White House under President Barack Obama by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Gwen’s son Mitch Robinson, who also spoke to the crowd May 23, said the gathering made him reflect on how special his mother and the community are.
“We welcome everybody,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are.”
A portrait of Gwen by Harrow-area artist Jermaine Baylis, was also unveiled at the event. As well, son Drew donated a $10,000 cheque to the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society to help perpetuate his mother’s “vision and mission.”
In her comments to reporters, the feisty Robinson, who still lives in Chatham’s east side, said all of the hard work has been worth it.
“There’s a lot of good Black folks and a lot of friends,” Robinson said. “Oh man, it’s been wonderful.”
