The sun has already set when we leave the Lionel-Groulx metro station. The faithful Colin Forde awaits us in front of the Union United Church, the first black church in the country. We discover a little-known, rich and fascinating history. At the corner of Atwater Avenue and Delisle Street rises the imposing Saint-Irénée Catholic Church, which is over a century old. Just across the street and in its shadow is the small Union United Church, a Protestant church built at the same time. In this unequal cohabitation, the history of the oldest black church in Canada is already taking shape.
Bloom where you are planted
Arriving in Canada 35 years ago from Barbados, Colin did not always follow the path where he is today. Before, his life was steeped in “wine, women, and songs.” After a life of rock and reggae, working alongside the Rolling Stones and reggae singer Peter Tosh, Colin Forde, who was a hotel manager, changed course when he arrived in Canada. “I went through the $50,000 Rolex and the $30,000 bracelet, among others; I lived and realized that it was vanity, only vanity, and that it led to nothing.”, he confides to us wisely. Her journey changes radically after a heart attack. “I was on the operating table for eight hours, and they brought me back to life thanks to God,” this church regular tells us. This moment brought him closer to his faith. After this ordeal, Colin went on a deep journey of introspection. “I decided to change my life, as Saul on the road to Damascus.I started to let go of myself,” recalls Colin Forde, with his hand on his heart.
He starts playing with the ring he is wearing on his left middle finger, which is in the shape of a skull. For Colin, this silver ring, donated by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones during a meeting in Jamaica, became a symbol of the fragility and vulnerability of life. As for his beret, it is a symbol of the revolution led by the Black Panthers in the 1960s. “I wear it because I am against oppression, like my brothers who fought for and with me,” explains the activist with pride. Now retired, he worked for more than 30 years in a textile factory in the Chabanel district of Montreal. “They made me work to death for nothing,” Indian He quipped at the simplicity of his old job. “But you can't catch blessings with a closed wrist. You must blossom where you are planted and say to the Lord: “Thank you for the little mercies””, he professes with a smile full of grace and pointing a finger at the sky.
Quebec racism swept under the carpet
Hope is not always easy to cultivate for Colin, who has seen Quebec society evolve over the past 35 years. He tells us about his first experience on the job market in the company of his late friend Rudy. The two go to Chabanel Street to apply for a job. “We filled out the forms and gave them to the receptionist.” Five minutes later, at the bottom of the building, Rudy realizes that he forgot to write his phone number. He goes back up with Colin and asks the same receptionist if he can get his form back to add his contact details. “She went looking in the trash can and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper for him,” recalls Colin. “It's not her, it's the company's behavior; it's a good thing we didn't have this job because it would have been horrible,” Colin then said to his friend Rudy.. Unfortunately, this was neither the first nor the last such experience Colin had to face. He's all too familiar with white people who cling to their purses when he walks behind them, or who get up when he's sitting next to them on the subway. “Even worse, I've seen dogs that bark only when they see black people, never in front of white people! He strongly denounces the fact that “animals are treated better than black people.” Today, Colin feels that racism in Canada is no less serious than in the United States. “There has been a lot of racism in Canada, and we like to minimize it because we think we are morally advanced compared to the United States — there has been a lot of racism and there is still racism, it must be said, but people are sweeping it under the carpet because they are too ashamed to admit what they did. Now we have gone from racism to fear because people, white people, think that we are going to do to them what they did to us,” says the septuagenarian.
Do you want a revolution?
This revolutionary spirit that animates Colin Forde also marks the history of the church where he welcomes us, which was founded by the Coloured Women's Club in 1907. At the time, the Colored Women's Club consisted of seven African Canadian women, whose husbands carried luggage for railway companies. As many African American slaves, fleeing the United States, came to settle in Canada, the need for a place of worship of their own was increasingly felt. “Being told to sit at the back of the church and then ordered not to come back at the end of mass by the entire white congregation was then the norm,” explains Colin, who sits on the church's board of directors.
This type of discrimination led to the founding of the Union United Church, which continues to advocate for an inclusive future. Among the efforts of the church include the annual visits it organizes to the N***** Rock Historic Site, two hours from Montreal. This is where several African American and African Canadian slaves, forced to move by British loyalists and settled in Canada, were buried. The tombs have still not been identified. “Before the pandemic, we made historic visits during which there was a service,” explains Colin before singing the introduction to Ride On King Jesus.
As we are sitting in the basement, a thud is heard in the room, which once sounded piano notes by the famous pianist Oscar Peterson. Destabilized, we accuse ghosts and spirits to joke. We go up to the second floor, where another part of the history of black slavery in Canada is hidden. A large tapestry reproduces the codes and symbols used by African American slaves to communicate to each other the routes that could guide them to the Underground Railroad and thus lead them to the passage to Canada.
On the third floor, we discover the Nelson Mandela Room. This is where church administration meetings are held. One image in particular shows a smiling Nelson Mandela, with his hands up, surrounded by members of the Montreal congregation. Recalling this visit dating back to 1990, Colin reveals all his admiration for the first president of South Africa. “He exuded different energy and vibrations.” While showing us around the sanctuary, he points to a large wooden cross on the pulpit. “It was under this cross that Nelson Mandela came to talk to the community about the mission of the African National Congress”, Colin Forde tells us proudly, before specifying that it was is the only church in the country that he visited after being released from prison. “There were so many World that the neighborhood had to be closed.” Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Desmond Tutu, Angela Davis, Oliver Jones, Oscar Peterson, Mathilda May, Anne Greenup are some of the historical figures and personalities who climbed the steps of this small church.
Photo: Ahmed El Moudden
A heritage that is difficult to preserve
Through its sculptures, photos, and porcelain, the church perpetuates the past to create a better future. Thus, dozens of images of plays, groups of men, potlucks, golf games, and former pastors tell the story of the place. At its peak, the Union United Church was a center of socialization that fostered belonging. “Many members of the congregation have an immigrant background, and joining the church was a first step in their integration process,” Colin Forde explains. The church offers a “place where you can come and feel comfortable because you see people like you; you are represented.” He elaborates. “When you get here (in Quebec), it can be a cold, hard and lonely place; if you don't have a good support system, you're going to dry out on the vine.”
A black and white photo immortalizes about sixty children wearing identical outfits: white top, black skirt and Ankara scarf. This image testifies to an ancient reality. These days, the presence of young people is lacking. Colin mentions several causes that, in his opinion, explain this reality. First, he feels that young people are not listened to enough. “Very often, young people are repressed. They live with a lot of worries and uncertainties, but they are not free to express themselves.” He goes on to say that technological advances are making young people more isolated. “Cell phones, television... families no longer spend much time together.” He continues passionately: “There are not enough conversations between the old and the new generation. Young people don't know their history, they don't realize they're living on the blood, sweat and tears of those who came before them.”
Today, the aging of members of the congregation is transforming the sense of community as it was once known. Before, the Union United Church, through its community activities (theater, music, golf, etc.) as well as through its services (soup kitchen and financial support for those in need), ensured that its members were taken care of. These days, the institution can no longer afford to do that. Since members of the congregation are, for the most part, retired, they are no longer in a position to contribute as much to the finances of the church. Colin explains that the pensions received by seniors barely allow them to eat and buy their medication. He ardently wants to return to the church of the past, one that was full of young people and where socio-cultural activities were frequently held. To do this, he proposes to be more attentive to young people and to provide them with the necessary space to express themselves, but the insufficient resources of the church make this impossible. When asked what he would say to politicians if he could talk to them, he begins a striking monologue: “I would tell them to come see us. They can't know what the population needs if they just stay in their homes in Westmount.”
As Colin said throughout the evening, “the flesh alone did not bring me here,” but also the support of his faith and community. “That's why we need to invest in our own communities, because they are the way forward. We are going to leave this land one day, and we must leave the world in a better condition than we found it.” According to him, we must learn to live in a more humane, more people-oriented way. “People will not remember what you gave them, but what you make them feel.” History is written in the bowels of this congregation, but it is often overlooked in the public consciousness. “The things that Were made to us should have made us disappear, erase us from the map, but we are still there at To fight, to fight, to serve God and to see the fruits of our work... If a society tries to silence you, your voice will last forever,” concludes Colin Forde.