Albert Jackson

Albert Jackson (2 November 1857 — 14 January 1918) was the first Black Canadian mail carrier in Toronto. Jackson faced discrimination when he started his position in 1882 and was reassigned as mail porter. When the decision was reversed by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald in order to win votes for the 1882 Canadian federal election, Jackson continued his mail carrier career from 1882 until his 1918 death. Jackson was posthumously honoured with a plaque by Heritage Toronto in 2017 and a stamp by Canada Post in 2019. Personal life Born in 1857 in Milford, Delaware, Jackson grew up in a family with eight siblings. His parents were John and Ann Maria Jackson. When Jackson was a young child, his older brothers, named Richard and James, were enslaved. In addition to separating the family, it is said that this event led to the death of John Jackson, who later died in a poor house. After learning that four more of her children were to be sold, his mother fled with seven of her children to St. Catharines, Ontario via the Underground Railroad. Ultimately, the two eldest children, Richard and James, were reunited with the family. Jackson was married and had four children. He died on 14 January 1918.