Meet Melissa Smith Hesson, a pioneering Black woman who shattered gender barriers and amplified the voices and experiences of Guelph’s Black community and provided much-needed representation through her writings. Melissa Smith Hesson was born in Queen’s Bush, Ontario.
Her family was early members of Guelph’s Black Methodist Epicoscal Church – founded on Market st in 1870, known today as Heritage Hall. In 1908, Melissa Smith married Samuel Hesson. They traveled between Canada and Detroit as Detroit was a hotspot for Black Canadian men to find work. Melissa was only 20 when she had distinguished herself as a correspondent for the Plaindealer, Detroit’s first Black newspaper. She wrote about the activities & happenings of the Guelph Black community as the Guelph newspaper did not cover any news about it’s Black community members.
People of the Guelph Black community had to look to the Plain dealer to find proper representation of themselves in the media. Melissa Smith Hesson provided representation for her community in Guelph and broke gender barriers with her career. She died in her home surrounded by family and is buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Park in Guelph.
