In the autumnal darkness of October 6, 1894, an unseen figure rang the doorbell at the Parkdale home of a well-to-do Toronto family and then shot Frank Westwood in his doorway. Weeks later, Clara Ford, a Black tailor and single mother known for her impeccable work ethic, resolute personality, and predilection for wearing men's attire, was arrested for the killing. Carolyn Whitzman tells the compelling story of a courageous Black woman living in nineteenth-century Toronto and paints a portrait of a city and a society that have not changed enough in one hundred twenty-five years.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.