I remember the day I learned that there was a long history of participation in the sport of ice hockey by people of African heritage who were, to my amazement, the sons and grandsons of American slaves who arrived in Nova Scotia via the Underground Railro

Several years ago, my sons became interested in the sport of ice hockey.  Since then we have enjoyed learning about the sport together, but we never imagined the cultural and ancestral treasure to which it would lead us in 2006.  

Throughout the years of learning, developing, achieving, and having great fun with the game of hockey, it was also important to me to find examples of other African-Americans who achieved success in the game. I wanted my sons to know that although they recognized differences among themselves and others with whom they played, there were also many black boys and men before them (as well as contemporaries) who shared their passion.  I never wanted them to feel burdened by the isolation that being different in a given instant of time can impose.  We researched the history of hockey and searched the internet for references to black players.  Ultimately, we compiled a database of players, a scrapbook of trading cards, an internet gallery of their pictures, and a video web log (vlog) of our own personal journey.   

In February of 2006, I came upon a book entitled "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925" by historians George and Darrill Fosty.  The web site description referenced research by Drakeford Levi, a historian and researcher of the Underground Railroad in Long Island, New York.  Our own last name is rare among African-Americans, and in this context, I could only be fascinated and wonder if Drakeford Levi could be related to my family. 

You, see, I already knew from oral and written family history that John Wesley Levi, born in Virginia in 1815 was traced to Guelph, Ontario in 1832 where he was recorded in the Census as married to Ann Geard (of England).  I often wondered if he fled Virginia before or after the infamous Turner Rebellion.  I can only imagine the utter terror of the early 1830's in light of the events which took place there.  I knew that his grandson, Thomas Levi, was a cook in the service of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford of Dearborn, Michigan in the 1910s-1920s at the height of the Ford Motor Company's revolutionary naissance.  Granpa Levi in his professional capacity actually accompanied the "four vagobonds" (Ford, Burroughs, Edison,  & Firestone) on camping trips in what were, I suppose, the first recreational vehicle excursions in America. My uncle still remembers the taste of the soy crackers Grandpa Thomas made at the Ford Fairlane estate in cooperation with George Washington Carver, an invited guest and respected business partner of Henry Ford. This same Thomas Levi is my great grandfather, and I find it truly amazing that through the sport of ice hockey, I discovered the link which is the Underground Railroad Long Island Spur which lead John Wesley Levi out of bondage and into Canada from which his family migrated to Michigan.  How ironic it is that my sons' fascination and interest in the commonly-perceived "Canadian" sport of ice hockey, in fact led me to the realization of a rich tradition of blacks in the game as documented by the Fostys and our newly discovered, long-lost relative, Mr. Drakeford Levi, and that a conductor on that very spur from the time of 1760-79 was named Eliakim Levi.  As a young black man in Detroit who grew up with little understanding or appreciation of the sport of hockey, I am astounded not that it provided my children a sense of accomplishment and discipline or that it keeps then physically fit and mentall sharp, but that it bridged a gap I could never have crossed on my own.  It took our family geneological research from the pre-civil war years all they way back to the American Revolution, and to the very origin of non-violent activisim which was the abolitionist movement or Quakerism.