‘Walking artist’ retraces Underground Railroad journey through Windsor-Essex

A 'Walking Artist' is in Windsor-Essex, retracing the route of the Underground Railroad.

A Philadelphia-based ‘walking artist’ is retracing a historic Underground Railroad route through Windsor-Essex, walking more than 120 kilometres in winter conditions to honour freedom seekers who escaped slavery and settled in the region.

Ken Johnston is leading the multi-day walk as part of his Walk to Freedom initiative, which uses long-distance walking as a form of public remembrance and education.

“The goal of the walk is to look at the hardships of slavery and the joy of freedom,” Johnston said.

Johnston flew to Detroit on Dec. 26, where he took part in an Underground Railroad walking tour. He crossed into Windsor by vehicle the morning of Dec. 27 and began the commemorative walk on the Canadian side of the Detroit River.

The journey runs from Windsor to Dresden between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, covering roughly 120 kilometres.

The route includes Windsor, Sandwich, Amherstburg, Harrow, North Buxton, Chatham, and Kent County, with Johnston completing most of the distance on foot.

This winter walk focuses on a period when many enslaved people fled north despite extreme risk.

“A lot of freedom seekers struck out for freedom because they were afraid of being sold right after Christmas,” Johnston said.

“That was a time in the South when a lot of planters would sell and barter and trade people for money, and so they called it ‘heartbreak day.’”

Johnston said many of those journeys followed routes through the Ohio Valley before crossing into Canada through Detroit and Windsor.

“This journey is remembering those who made that walk during the cold, hard, winter months,” he said.

Despite cold temperatures, wind, and icy conditions, Johnston said walking in winter is essential to understanding the experience.

“It’s really about the sensory experience of what those early freedom seekers would have felt underfoot,” he said.

“It’s about discovering the souls of the people who came this way.”

Johnston also said walking through populated communities — rather than remote trails — is intentional.

“I want people to see me passing through their communities, because sometimes that’s the only way they know there was a connection to African Canadian history and the Underground Railroad,” he said.

“I want people to be able to identify that as part of everyone’s history.”

Johnston uses the term “walking artist” to describe his practice of using long-distance walking as a public way to tell historical stories and spark conversation — and has led multiple walks focused on civil rights history and Underground Railroad routes since 2018.

His previous walks have included routes from Selma to Memphis, Galveston to Houston, the Niagara Region to Owen Sound, and other historically significant civil rights corridors.

Joining Johnston for portions of the walk is Mo Knaus of Hamilton, who connected with the project during one of Johnston’s previous walks.

“When he mentioned doing this during the winter to symbolize our ancestors travelling at all times of the year, I was interested in joining him,” Knaus said.

She said physically walking the route offers a deeper understanding of history.

“Our ancestors wouldn’t have been able to pack a whole bunch of gear,” she said.

“They would have had limited supplies to make the journey to Canada. It’s very humbling.”

Knaus also pointed to the community response along the route.

“The biggest thing I see is our families connecting and reconnecting,” she said.

“Reconnecting through community is so important to make sure that our history lives on.”

The walk includes public stops at several historically significant sites, including Windsor’s Tower of Freedom Monument, Sandwich First Baptist Church, and a meet-and-greet at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum on Dec. 28.

The journey will conclude at the Josiah Henson Museum of African Canadian History on Jan. 3.

“By tracing the footsteps of the ancestors through my public presentation of walking, I hope to evoke the power of memory,” Johnston said.