Black History Month Challenge Feb 1-4

February 1 to 4: Cultural impact of Black Canadians and global citizens

Actions: Recognizing Jackie Richardson (Canadian jazz artist, actress and Honorary Inductee into the 2022 Order of Canada);

Feb 1: El Jones, Canadian Poet, journalist, Professor and Activist;

Lawrence Hill, Canadian novelist, essayist (author, Book of Negroes)

Feb 2: Jean Augustine, educator, activist and politician, first Black woman to be elected to parliament in Canada during 1993 federal election; worked on the recognition of Black History Month

Feb 3: Rosemary Sadlier is the founder and president of the Black Canadian Network and the former president of the Ontario Black History Society. An Order of Ontario recipient and recognized expert on the history of Black Canadians, she also worked with Jean Augustine on the recognition of Black History Month.

Feb 4: Dudley Laws, a former mechanic and welder, Dudley Laws was a Black Canadian activist who rose to prominence during the ’70s and ’80s as an outspoken critic of the Toronto police following the shooting of several Black men.

Feb 5: Michaëlle Jean, a former CBC journalist, was the first Black person to serve as Canada’s Governor General, a position she held between 2005 and 2010.

Feb 6: Charles Roach was born in 1933 in Trinidad and Tobago, and after immigrating to Canada, became a noted civil rights lawyer and activist. He represented the Black Panthers and American conscientious objectors, often working pro bono.

Extras:

Winston LaRose, an 80-year-old community activist, inspires a Toronto community to challenge the traditional powers as he runs for political office for the first time

Watch Mr. Jane and Finch on CBC Docs POV.

Other significant contributors to art and culture: