Black History Month
February 1st marks the start of #BlackHistoryMonth, a time to celebrate the rich heritage, achievements, and contributions of Black Canadians throughout history. Join us in honouring this important month and in recognizing the enduring impact of the Black community.
We will be adding inspirational Black Canadians and Saints throughout the month. Check back regularly to learn more about their courageous stories.
St. David CSS 3rd Annual Black History Month Speakers Panel with Jody Brown, Conrad Coates, Colleen James and Ajirioghene Evi.
Devon Clunis
Devon Clunis moved to Winnipeg from Jamaica at age 12. Wanting to make a difference, he joined the Winnipeg Police Service in 1987, where he has performed all manner of duties over the course of 25 years, including: patrols, traffic duty, investigations and community relations.
In November 2012, Clunis was sworn in as Chief of Police of the Winnipeg Police Service, becoming the first Black Canadian to hold the position.
Bishop Moses B. Anderson
Bishop Moses B. Anderson was the first Black Bishop of Detroit. In his pastoral ministry Bishop Anderson exhibited great love for the Church and his parishioners.
Eleanor Collins
Eleanor Collins, Vancouver’s “First Lady of Jazz,” was the first Canadian woman to have her own national television show: CBC TV’s The Eleanor Show (1955) and Eleanor (1964). She championed the values of equality and acceptance and is considered a civic leader and pioneer in the development of British Columbia’s music industry.
Eleanor Collins was born Elnora Ruth Proctor in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1919 to Black and Creole Indian parents who had settled on the Canadian prairies with more than 1,000 Black pioneers from Oklahoma. At the age of 15, she was able to win a talent contest because of her keen ear for music. This talent served her well throughout her career. Eleanor moved to Vancouver in 1939 where she met her husband Richard (Dick) Collins and settled down to raise their four children (Rick, Judith, Barry and Tom).
In 1945, Eleanor became a studio musician for CBC Radio to supplement her family’s income. Later that year, Eleanor accepted an invitation to join leading CBC Radio studio musician, Ray Norris, in the formation of a Quintet where she was the featured vocalist. Serenade in Rhythm was a long running jazz series short waved to the Canadian troops in Europe on CBC Radio International Service.
“The Eleanor Show” CBC’s musical variety series that aired as a summer series in 1954 and later as “Eleanor” in 1964, featured Collins’ style, elegance, and sophistication. Eleanor was the first Canadian music artist to have a show named after her, and the first music artist of color to host a national television series in North America – both groundbreaking achievements in Canadian history.
By the late 1980s, Collins was considered a living legend, and many heritage projects began seeking her out once again. She and the Collins family appeared in a documentary titled Hymn to Freedom: On This Rock.
Among other accomplishments, Eleanor performed live in concerts and recorded on the album She-Bop, which celebrated female musicians in Canadian culture history. Still vibrant at the age of 94, Eleanor surprised and delighted a packed house concert audience by performing live at Marcus Mosely’s 3rd and 4th Black History Month.
Collins has received numerous awards for her contributions to the arts and entertainment, including the Centennial Distinguished Pioneer Award in 1986 and induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, ACTRA’s Sam Payne Award, the Toronto Black Diversity Network Black Canadian Awards and the Black Women in Jazz Awards in Atlanta.
Sister Thea Bowman
Sister Thea Bowman was a Black Catholic religious sister, teacher, musician, liturgist, and scholar. She promoted education and cultural awareness for those who were marginalized.
(Source: Thomas Spear)
Georges Anglade
Born on July 18, 1944, in Port-au-Prince, Georges Anglade was a Haitian-born geographer, politician and writer from Montreal.
In 1965, Anglade obtained a law degree and a diploma in Social Sciences from the Faculty of Law in Port-au-Prince. His opposition to the Duvalier dictatorship led him to leave Haiti for France. Between 1965 and 1969, he studied at the Center of Applied Geography in Strasbourg, where he obtained his doctorate. He also obtained a degree in literature at the University of Strasbourg in 1967. Between 1968 and 1969, he was a professor at the Institute of Demography in Strasbourg. His move to Canada, to Montreal, in September 1969, led him to be one of the co-founders of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), which contributed to the creation of a network of universities across the province where he taught social geography until 2002.
Anglade was a staunch anti-Duvalierist, twice exiled in 1974 and 1991, and repeatedly threatened with death for opposing the Haitian authorities. He spent much of his adult life in exile in Quebec, where he founded the Haitian Solidarity Movement (MAS) in Montreal in the 1980s, and in 1990 published La Chance qui passe, a manifesto calling for democracy in Haiti. In the 1990s, he served as advisor and Minister of Public Works under the governments of Jean Bertrand Aristide and René Préval. In 1994, he chaired the Miami International Political Conference, which initiated the return to democracy in Haiti.
After his government career, he intensified his literary activity, focusing on lodyans, which he theorized by writing stories of this genre.
Georges Anglade and his wife Mireille died suddenly, along with other family members, in the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010.
St. Martin de Porres
Martin de Porres became the first black American saint, canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. Throughout his life, St. Martin de Porres exemplified God’s love for all people, regardless of their level in society.
(Source: Jean Jacques Augustin from Port-au-prince, Haiti)
Fabienne Colas
She started her career as a model, being crowned Miss Haiti in 2000. After a successful film career in Haiti, Colas decided to pursue her career in Quebec, playing roles in various small and big screen productions such as L’Auberge du chien noir, Virginie, and Trauma. In 2008, she directed and produced her first film Minuit, in which she played the leading role.
She is the founding president of many popular international festivals that attract more than 100,000 festival-goers each year, international celebrities and incredible media coverage, which includes:
- the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF), Canada’s largest black film festival
- the Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF)
- the Festival Haïti en Folie [Haiti on Fire] in Montreal, the largest multi-disciplinary festival outside Haiti entirely dedicated to Haitian culture
- the Fade to Black Festival in Montreal, dedicated to celebrating Black History Month
- the Quebecois Film Festival in Haiti
- the new Halifax Black Film Festival
These days, Colas mentors young people from various background as she is often involved with underprivileged youth in schools and community centres on the issues of staying in school, academic achievement, self-esteem, and excellence.
She continues to fight for the representation of diversity on screens and in the media, as well as for equal opportunity for all.
