London Community News
Upcoming documentary to explore London’s multicultural history
London Community News
By Sean Meyer
Steve Charles thought the pending relocation of a former slave chapel built in 1848 to its new home on Grey Street would make a great subject for a movie.
Turns out, his friend Mark Drewe, owner of Mosaic Mind Pictures, agreed. However, just four months into the project, what was once going to be “a 20-minute TV episode” has evolved into a feature length documentary that will examine not only the chapel’s history, but that of London as well.
“The more we started talking to people, other historians, we started finding out this web of stories all around the city, all around the region, set from that time, essentially the 1800s,” said Drewe. Those stories, Drewe said, soon began to tell a story that demand more attention than just the move of the former African Methodist Episcopal Church to its new home next to Beth Emmanuel Church — the church that replaced it in 1869...... continue reading here
London Community News
By Sean Meyer
Steve Charles thought the pending relocation of a former slave chapel built in 1848 to its new home on Grey Street would make a great subject for a movie.
Turns out, his friend Mark Drewe, owner of Mosaic Mind Pictures, agreed. However, just four months into the project, what was once going to be “a 20-minute TV episode” has evolved into a feature length documentary that will examine not only the chapel’s history, but that of London as well.
“The more we started talking to people, other historians, we started finding out this web of stories all around the city, all around the region, set from that time, essentially the 1800s,” said Drewe. Those stories, Drewe said, soon began to tell a story that demand more attention than just the move of the former African Methodist Episcopal Church to its new home next to Beth Emmanuel Church — the church that replaced it in 1869...... continue reading here
The Londoner
Documentary to reveal London’s multicultural history
By Chris Montanini, Londoner
The story behind a historic chapel on Thames Street that
once aided runaway slaves in the 19th century has inspired a local documentary about the roots of multiculturalism in the London area.
Architectural drafter Steve Charles, who recently volunteered his services to help move and preserve the 165-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Church, and videographer Mark Drewe, owner of Mosaic Mind Pictures, teamed up to begin research for the documentary about three months ago.
Stirred by the symbolic church’s role as a sanctuary for black slaves in what was called Upper Canada at the time, the pair said they’ve already uncovered a number of interesting characters that offer glimpses of the multicultural society that settled in Southwestern Ontario.“There’s a bigger issue here,” said Charles, who contacted Drewe about the idea after deciding he wanted to explore the history of the church in a broader context than its role as a save haven for slaves. “The
bigger picture is social. (The London area) was a huge mixing pot — British,
Irish, blacks, Italians, Native Americans — they came together and lived in
London together. That just didn’t happen back then. For a city like London to be
so diverse at such a time, it’s a big story.”
With some help from local historians and resources such as the archives at St. Peter’s Seminary, where there are extensive records related to the Seminary and affiliated organizations, Charles and Drewe are exploring anecdotes to support the multicultural theme from the late 1700s to the early 1900s....continue reading here
By Chris Montanini, Londoner
The story behind a historic chapel on Thames Street that
once aided runaway slaves in the 19th century has inspired a local documentary about the roots of multiculturalism in the London area.
Architectural drafter Steve Charles, who recently volunteered his services to help move and preserve the 165-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Church, and videographer Mark Drewe, owner of Mosaic Mind Pictures, teamed up to begin research for the documentary about three months ago.
Stirred by the symbolic church’s role as a sanctuary for black slaves in what was called Upper Canada at the time, the pair said they’ve already uncovered a number of interesting characters that offer glimpses of the multicultural society that settled in Southwestern Ontario.“There’s a bigger issue here,” said Charles, who contacted Drewe about the idea after deciding he wanted to explore the history of the church in a broader context than its role as a save haven for slaves. “The
bigger picture is social. (The London area) was a huge mixing pot — British,
Irish, blacks, Italians, Native Americans — they came together and lived in
London together. That just didn’t happen back then. For a city like London to be
so diverse at such a time, it’s a big story.”
With some help from local historians and resources such as the archives at St. Peter’s Seminary, where there are extensive records related to the Seminary and affiliated organizations, Charles and Drewe are exploring anecdotes to support the multicultural theme from the late 1700s to the early 1900s....continue reading here