Achieving The Believable
Following Harriet Tubman's Legacy as An Associate Fellow at The Harriet Tubman Institute at York University
My longtime friend Antar Baker and I had been talking about or mentioning Harriet Tubman’s name for decades. Our connection, made in elementary school on the west side of Rockford, Illinois, created the possibility of clenching to the revolutionary spirit and actions of Harriet Tubman - also known as Moses to those she took to freedom during the days of slavery.
Because Antar’s parents encouraged learning about African American history, we emphatically spoke about the efforts of Harriet Tubman. She is still a woman and an American figure who recieves high praise for what she brought to thousands of people of African descent who sought control of their own lives. The praise she gets will last as long as this republic exists.
Fast forward to November 2025 and here I am achieving the believable: I am now an Associate Fellow of The Harriet Tubman Institute at York University in Toronto, Canada. Antar and I did not see this coming but it is definitely an honor; our conversations, reading, and research led to this accomplishment. I am sure the spirit of Harret Tubman is proud.
This pursuit of education and empowerment has been lifelong for me. Every since visiting the Baker’s house on Court Street and being introduced to the people whose shoulders I stand on I have sought all I can in regard to the shaping of my life story and the history of this country. Besides learning about instances and events that have shaped the United States I have also learned how Canada, particularly Ontario and Toronto, play a role in discovering information about the African diaspora.
Back in 2001 I was blessed to acquire a performance slot in Toronto’s super poet Dwayne Morgan’s popular spoken word series “When Brothers Speak.” I posses a 20+ year connection with Toronto and Ontario. Maybe it is in my lineage, my life’s story, this connection exists. Maybe it was an ancestor who I may never know about whose similar research and work pushed I, Christopher Donshale Sims, to connect with the geography, the internationalism, and the interculturalism of this journey. Regardless, I am very thankful!
I knew I had the resume and the life experiences to obtain the Associate Fellow role with The Harriet Tubman Institute. There was something in me as I read through the application that said “You can do this Christopher.” I proceeded and two weeks later I received an email letting me know I had been chosen for the Associate Fellow position.
Things have come full circle with this special designation.
As Black people, and other people of color, are under attack by the racist who is currently president, this achievement makes even more sense. Harriet Tubman’s spirit lives through me and my modern day social justice and human rights work. If Harriet Tubman could fight back at imperialism the way she did, I can at least use what I know and who I am connected to to achieve just a little of what she did in her time.
I have projects that have been approved for presentation at the Institute. Some of which focus on brining United States African Americans, Black Canadians, and Afro Indigenous Canadians together to converse, share artistic talents, and to have impactful discussions.
May this forthcoming work make a difference in the way the contitent of Africa and all of her living descendants need it to!
We are divided in ways that has stimied Pan Africanism and its importance to our collective freedom and liberation.
