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Acknowledgments The Haitian adage ‘‘cé zye ki pè travay’’ admonishes that ‘‘ ’tis the eyes that fear the work.’’ Facing hundreds of archival files and seemingly endless micro film reels—none of them reassuringly labeled ‘‘black/Negroes/colored’’— made these eyes fear indeed. So too did staring at the computer screen wondering how and when I would make this story come to life, how I would do justice to the many families who handed over their memories and photographs to me, then a graduate student hitchhiking across Canada scouting for surviving sleeping car porters. I am not sure when I stopped fearing in favor of writing, but I do know to whom I am beholden for committing my thoughts to page and delighting in the process. This story about sleeping car porters, the forgotten black men who slipped in and out of Canada’s famed railway stations during the first half of the twentieth century, first took shape in the kitchen of Mrs. Frances Atwell. Born in Winnipeg in 1923, Mrs. Atwell grew up with many of the key figures in this story and remembered them with infectious enthusiasm and enviable clarity. During our first interview—which lasted nine hours!—Frances and her husband , George, told of the impressive measures taken by porters intent on protecting their workers’ rights and defending African Canadians’ social, political , cultural, and economic interests. Most important, Mrs. Atwell played a critical role in helping me meet other Winnipeg railway families—Lee and Alice Williams, Helen and Eddie Bailey, Eddie Blackman, and Lawrence and Ethel Lewsey—who also graciously shared their experiences with me. To all the black Winnipeggers who entrusted their stories to me, who drove me around town, and who fed me, I thank you. I also owe tremendous thanks to the Blanchette family—Yvonne Blanchette , Diane Chambers, and Dr. Howard Blanchette—for sharing their memories of the man I would most have liked to meet: the indefatigable railway activist Arthur R. Blanchette. Dr. Blanchette was especially generous with his time and even invited me to join his family for a reunion in St. Kitts. Arthur R. Blanchette’s joie de vivre lived on in his son’s baritone laughter and in the many stories he recounted. I hope that this book honors Arthur R. xiv Acknowledgments Blanchette’s legacy and all the black men who worked the rails. This book is for them. North of the Color Line received assistance from several sources who believed in this project and proved it: the National Endowment for the Humanities , the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Pacific Archives, the Library and Archives of Canada, the Archives of Manitoba, the Paul Mellon Foundation, the American Historical Association, and the Organization of American Historians, as well as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton universities. Innumerable others deserve thanks for helping with my research, reading my work in its various incarnations, and patiently listening to my many stories about sleeping car porters. I am deeply indebted to Robin Winks for insisting that I think broadly and argue boldly. I am so very grateful to Glenda Gilmore, whose insight, wisdom, counsel, support, and friendship carried this book to completion. David Montgomery, Patricia Pessar, Nell Painter, and Colin Palmer invested time and care in this manuscript, and for this I sincerely thank them. I also shamefully exploited the patience and kindness of my family, friends, and colleagues in order to get this book finished. Gerry Atwell, Jennifer Baszile, Kelly Davis, Jhieny Fabre, Kirsten Fischer, Lance Herrington, Matthew Joseph, Michelle Wittco√ Kuhl, Ferentz Lafargue, Annick and Meiz Majdoub, MJ Maynes, Alicia Pittard, Hildegard Quevedo, Jim Walker, and Barbara Welke made sure that I laughed, ate, slept, and purged this book of many of its imperfections. Mila and Mahalia Majdoub and Vanessa Constant spent incalculable hours pouring over microfilm material, newspaper articles, employee rosters, border entry records, and census data. Mille merci mes soeurs! And finally, thanks to Mia Avery for sleeping through her nights from her first night home so that I could work into the morning. ...

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