For marginalized athletes past and present, achievement can bring celebrity without equality and recognition without opportunity. In many ways, Ontario's Chatham--Kent region is a microcosm of Canadian multiculturalism: as a terminus of the underground railroad, it has long been home to a large Black community; Walpole Island and Delaware First Nation are nearby; and, during World War II, many interned Japanese-Canadians worked on local farms. The athletic prowess of locals like Fergie Jenkins and Bob Izumi became a source of local, regional and national pride.
