by Marian McGrath | Feb 6, 2023 | Black History Month
Mathieu Da Costa (1589-1619) Historians believe the first Black person to come to Canada was Mathieu Da Costa. European colonizers hired him, as a free man, to work as an interpreter. There is not much verifiable information about Da Costa’s life, but it seems he was...
by Marian McGrath | Feb 5, 2023 | Black History Month
Lillian Allen (born 1951) On her website, Lillian Allen describes herself as a “grassroots artist, cultural activist and university professor – …a godmother of rap/hip hop, dub and spoken word.” Born in Jamaica, Allen came to Canada in 1969 to attend Waterloo...
by Marian McGrath | Feb 4, 2023 | Black History Month
Kayla Grey (born 1993)In 2018, award-winning journalist and racial-justice advocate Kayla Grey became the first Black woman to host a national sports show in Canada. She regularly speaks on racism in Canada and in sports. Grey began her broadcasting career as an...
by Marian McGrath | Feb 3, 2023 | Black History Month
Dudley Laws (1934-2011) Dudley Laws was a Canadian civil rights activist whose rallying cry was “No justice, no peace.” Born in Jamaica, Laws emigrated to England and lived there for 10 years before coming to Canada in 1965. He worked in Toronto as a welder and...
by Marian McGrath | Feb 2, 2023 | Black History Month
Mabel Adeline (Addie) Aylestock (1909-1998) Mabel Adeline (Addie) Aylestock was the first Black woman to be ordained in Canada, becoming a minister of the British Methodist Episcopal Church. Raised in the rural community of Glen Allan, Ontario, located northwest of...
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