homenewsnewsletter
Newsletter #3 - August 2006
President's Message
The revitalization and reopening of the NCC building is still an uphill climb. In March, the Board met with the Executive of the African Canadian Development and Prevention Network (ACDP) and voted to become a participating member of that organization. In April, the ACDP Network Executive, Mme Jacqueline Montpetit, Mayor of the South-West Borough, M. Pierre Fréchette, City Councillor for St. Henri, Little Burgundy and Pointe St. Charles, M. Pierre Savard, Commander of SPVM Station 15, and myself joined together to reiterate our solid commitment to the NCC project.
The building, which has been closed for 15 years, is still being disturbed by vagrants and squatters. This has been an ongoing problem for the Board as we pursue our efforts to reinstate the building. On Tuesday, July 11, the South-West Borough put up a barricade to discourage walking near the property, owing in part to the instability of the brick wall, which has become more fragile since the deluge of rain over the past two months.
Currently, we are gearing up for a fundraising campaign to encourage community involvement in realizing our goal. The Board and NCC membership remain optimistic and focused.
- Shirley A. Gyles
Synopsis
February
Ms. Yolande James, Member of the Quebec National Assembly (Nelligan) and
Chair of the Task Force on the Full Participation of Black Communities in
Quebec Society, presented Mme Lise Thériault, Minister of Immigration
and Cultural Communities, with the group’s report, which includes
36 recommendations covering the following eight areas of action:
1) The
fight against racism and racial discrimination
2) Access to employment
3) Collective memory and the image of Blacks
in society
4) Support for entrepreneurship
5) Support for families, women
and youth
6) Education
7) Communication of government information, and
8) Monitoring implementation of the recom-mendations.
Minister Thériault is committed to having her government adopt a
policy to combat racism and discrimination.
Also in February, during her visit to Montreal, the Governor General, Her
Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, met at the Little Burgundy
Sports Centre with invited com-munity organizations and Little Burgundy
residents to listen and learn more about their import-ant and pressing issues
and their major concerns pertaining to the community.
March 31
Ethnic Origins Bookstore, on St. Jacques Street, closed temporarily after being a stalwart Black enter-prise within the community for over 20 years. Store manager Veronica Benjamin, who has been ailing for some time, had left the day to day operations to her assistant, who stated that they are still shopping around for another place in the Little Burgundy area. Ms. Benjamin stated that they are not sure when exactly this will happen.
Store owner Lyda Peters Harris could not be reached for comment, but here is a thought: would it not be great to have them reopen in the NCC?
April 7
Governer General Michaëlle Jean, Mme Lise Thériault and Mayor Gérald Tremblay
took part in a tribute honoring Marie-Josèphe Angélique, a Black slave charged
with setting fire to the City of Montreal in 1734. The event took place
at La Maison Parent-Roback, where Her Excellency delivered a short speech
and then went on a guided walk retracing the footsteps and life of Angélique.
She placed flowers on a commemorative plaque in the slave's honour. After
the walk, at the Centre d'histoire de Montréal, 335 Place d'Youville, Her
Excellency took part in the launching of Canada's educational website: "Torture
and the Truth: Angélique and the Burning of Montreal. It is part of the
Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History Series, which is online at
www.canadianmysteries.ca
April 7
Ms. Brenda Paris was elected as the new President of Mayor Tremblay's Montreal Island Citizens Union at the annual meeting of the party's General Council. Paris ran for Council on the party ticket in Point St. Charles in last year's municipal election, but lost. She said her challenge is to help the party improve the quality of life for all Montrealers.
May 19
Our President Shirley Gyles was named to the United Nations Association in Canada as one of two Montreal-based Regional Coordinators. This UN initiative, entitled "A Sense of Belonging," aims to promote diversity and combat racism and discrimination in local community outreach and public education. This is a federally funded initiative including in-dependent stakeholders. A
public reception was held on July 27 at the Goethe Museum.
June 19
Ms. Laurraine LeBlanc, who took the initiative and stood up against Couche Tard Dépanneur and its racist candy packaging, was awarded the Quebec Citizenship Prize for the fight against racism and discrimination. The ceremony took place at the National Assembly in Quebec City.
Last summer, Ms. LeBlanc filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Com-mission and won. As a settlement, the chain donated $18,000 to Youth in Motion.
Ms. LeBlanc was nominated by the Coloured Women's Club (CWC). Incidentally, the
Solidarity Prize is named after the club's first President, Mrs. Anne Greenup.
June 27
Dr. Oliver Jones launched the English version of his biography "Oliver Jones, the Musician, the Man," written by Marthe Sansregret. The book can be found in both French and in English in most bookstores.
July
The NCC Board of Directors has been scouting inside and outside the com- munity for people and ways to raise funds for the Centre.
March 2007
The CWC and a group totaling 62 participants will be flying off to South Africa for two weeks, where they will be visiting such places as Soweto, Swaziland, Johannes-burg, Capetown and Robin Island, as well as Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
As a Community We Need to Step Up to the Plate!
The Board has been working very diligently and methodically for the past two years, but we still need the help and support of the community. The City of Montreal, the South-West Borough and the other levels of government have demonstrated their willingness to help through an impressive series of measures, about which we have kept you informed. Our broader Black community has been slow to match those efforts and needs to show that we are willing and interested in helping ourselves. One of the things that we can all do is make a monetary commitment to the NCC, no matter how small: every bit is much appreciated!
To repeat a few of the publicly driven measures just mentioned, the City of Montreal (Mayor Gérald Tremblay) and the South-West Borough (Mayor Jacqueline Montpetit and her Political Attaché, Mr. Michel Gervais) supported and/or funded our Action Plan, a building inspection and detailed report by an archi-tectural firm, the tarping of the roof for winter protection and a consultation by urban planners to help determine the community’s vision for the NCC. The City of Montreal also assigned a building engineer to assess the condition of the façade. When it was determined that precautions were needed, the South-West Borough followed through. We need to bear in mind that we cannot earn respect by holding our hand out all the time. The Black community has the human resources and means to make this project a success. Others have had their turn at bat and have scored. Now we as a community need to step up to the plate.
NCC Honours Pioneering Women
On November 12, 2005, the NCC honoured three special women at its Annual Pasta Dinner. Here is Part II of their story.
Lyndall, Eda and Loleta left their host families at the end of that first year and went to live with friends. One friend, a Mr. Nichols, took Lyndall and Loleta apartment hunting and they soon found lodgings near Pine and St. Dominique. But then a minor disaster: rain flooded their home and they received no compensation. Lyndall then saw a sign advertising a room on Tupper, near the hospital. However, having rung the doorbell, she was told there was "no room." The second place where she inquired did rent her a room. Eda had no problems finding lodging.
If the three of them had known then what they know now, they would still choose to come to Canada. For, setbacks notwithstanding, they have had much opportunity and many interesting experiences. Most interesting of all: they all met and married their husbands here, have prospered and own their own homes. Their families are here. As for likes and dislikes, Lyndall loves the restaurants, but they could all do without the winter weather!
Lyndall still misses her family in Barbados at times, although she continues to participate in many activities locally, and all her friends are here. She is involved with the Canadian Legion and was the first Black female president of the 6160 Victoria Rifles of Canada, as well as a member of the Black Watch. She keeps busy volunteering with a steel drums group, church, seniors group and choir and still has time for crafts, painting, ceramics (an award-winning hobby proudly displayed in her home) and Tai-Chi. Lyndall has three daughters, all of whom still live in Montreal, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Loleta is involved in many activities at Union United Church: Meals on Wheels, the food bank, the Seniors Pioneer Club and the Chancel Choir. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her volunteer work and was honoured at the church during one of the special Mother's Day services. Loleta returns to Barbados every two years, but went twice in 2005 because her daughter decided to be married there. She has five children, three girls and two boys, some of whom now live in Toronto. Loleta and Eda both have four grandchildren.
Eda is an ardent baker and has received many culinary awards. Nowadays, she bakes for family and friends only and also loves playing bingo. She has not been back to Barbados for many years. Eda has four children, two boys and two girls (two now live in Toronto and one in New York) and has been foster mother to other children in need of her gentle, generous help.
Occasionally, the three still travel together. Last August, for example, they went to Atlanta, Georgia. They are not in contact with any of the other 16 women who arrived with them, but are aware that most of them fared well in their new life in Canada.
On November 30, 2005, Lyndall Hunte, Eda Tyrrell and Loleta Johnson were invited to Ottawa to attend an Independence Day reception hosted by the High Commissioner for Barbados in celebration of that country's 39 years of independence. It was also an opportunity to pay special tribute to these three pioneering women from Barbados.