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February is Black History Month – 2013

18 January 2013

Local 79 President Tim Maguire presenting the Urban Alliance on Race Relations Tribute Award to Charles Roach’s widow June Roach.

In December 1995, the Parliament of Canada officially recognized February as Black History Month, following a motion introduced by the first Black Canadian Woman elected to Parliament, the Honourable Jean Augustine, M.P. of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, who at the time was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. The motion was carried unanimously by the House of Commons. In February 2011, to mark the 15th Anniversary of the National Black History Month declaration, Jean Augustine was awarded the Daniel G. Hill Community Service Award by the Ontario Black History Society, its highest award offered.

The 2006 Census reported that in Ontario 473,760 people (17.3%) identified themselves as Black, making them this Province’s third largest visible minority group, of whom 352,220 live in the GTA.

In Ontario, the black community worked to improve the status of racial minorities from the earliest period of settlement. The 20th century saw an organized effort to eliminate discrimination in hiring and terms of employment for black citizens. In 1944 the government of Ontario responded to changes in public attitudes by passing the first anti-discrimination legislation in Canada, the Racial Discrimination Act. This Act explicitly declared that racial and religious discrimination would not be tolerated. The Act was designed to combat the once prevalent discriminatory signs that were displayed in store windows, beaches and other public places.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission was created in 1961. Its function was to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code which was enacted in 1962. It was the first legislation of its kind in Canada and protects the people of Ontario against discrimination in employment, accommodation, goods, services and facilities, and membership in vocational associations and trade unions.

In Canada, Black History Month celebrates the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians, past and present. The celebrations honour the legacy of some of the many individuals who have helped to make Canada such a culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous country.

This year, Canada Post is commemorating Black History month by releasing stamps to celebrate the famous jazz pianist Oliver Jones, and early Vancouver’s beloved lifeguard, Joe Fortes. Oliver Jones was born to Barbadian parents in Montréal in 1934. He began studying music at an early age and toured internationally as a young man. He returned to Montréal in 1980, and began playing local jazz venues. Since then, he has produced many albums and been awarded 5 Juno Awards, l’Ordre national du Québec, and the Order of Canada. Joe Fortes arrived in Vancouver from his native Trinidad and Tobago in 1885. An avid swimmer, he took up residence in the city’s English Bay where he taught swimming lessons and patrolled the beach. In 1894, he became an official city lifeguard. A beloved member of the community, he was recognized with a city funeral upon his death in 1922 and a memorial fountain at English Bay in 1927.

In 2012, Canada lost two giants from the Black community: Charles Roach and Lincoln Alexander.

Charles Roach was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and at the age of 29 immigrated to Toronto where he lived for more than 50 years. He was a veteran civil-rights lawyer and activist whose name was synonymous with the promotion of human rights.

Charles was recognized with the Urban Alliance on Race Relations Tribute Award for his life-long work in anti-racism and struggle against injustice on behalf of African people in particular and the oppressed in general. Unfortunately, although he was aware of this honour, and delighted by it, he passed away shortly before the award ceremony. Local 79 President Tim Maguire had the privilege of presenting the award posthumously to Charles’ window at the 2012 Urban Alliance Awards Dinner in October.

Lincoln Alexander, born in Toronto in 1922, was the son of a hotel maid and a railway porter, who became Canada’s first Black Member of Parliament, first Black Cabinet Minister, and first Black Lieutenant Governor. In the House of Commons he was a leader in issues such as immigration overhaul and urban renewal.

Lincoln was a wireless operator for the Royal Canadian Air Force, studied history and economics at McMaster University in Hamilton, earned a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was a partner in one of Canada’s first interracial law firms before winning election to Parliament.

The New York Times obituary headline for him stated, “Lincoln Alexander, Canadian Trailblazer, Dies at 90”.

Local 79 would like to dedicate Black History Month 2013 to these two remarkable individuals.