Canada Post unveils new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley

A new Black History Month stamp honours a Canadian who had a profound impact on the history of enslavement in Canada.

Canada Post honoured the legacy of Chloe Cooley with their newly released video about her story. She was a Black enslaved woman who lived in Queenston, Upper Canada, in the late 18th century.

“It was a moment that would change the course of enslavment in Canada, and help shape the countries history…” says Canada Post in their video about the stamp honouring Chloe Cooley.

According to Canada Post, witness accounts of her fight to escape, and her resistance, later helped change legistlation and later slavery in Canada.

Natasha Henry-Dixon is the assistant rofessor of African-Canadian history at York University, she says its diffilcult to give a full picture of who Chloe Cooley was, but says she had a major impact nonetheless.

“Cooley’s pain, suffering and bondage did open up a gateway to freedom for others,” said Henry-Dixon. “As part of our endeavor to better understand our history, its incumbent to recognize the realities of enslavement and seek to heal and reconcile through that.”

Henry-Dixon adds she hopes Cooley’s story continues to be remembered through the new Canadian stamp and other platforms.