BHM Feature

Special Black History Month section to honour & highlight 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers. We’ll be featuring a new person every day of the month, so be sure to come back & check it out.

by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Janet Panford

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TweetIndustrial Technology Advisor, National Research Council of Canada, Saskatoon, SK. Born: Ghana. Dr. Janet Panford spent over 20 years in food research before joining the Industrial Research Assistance Program of the National Research Council of Canada in 1998. Her work involves provision of technical advice and research funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in the food and [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Sylvia Kathleen & Edsworth Searles – In Memoriam

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Tweet(As a special Valentine’s Day tribute, we’re proud to honour the memory and legacy of Sylvia Kathleen & Edsworth Searles. Married for 61 years, and considered by many as Toronto royalty, their contributions made to the community are enormous. As stated in their daughter Marjorie’s speech at their 60th Anniversary Celebration: “their love and affection for each [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Kenneth Montague

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TweetDental Surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Associates / Founder, The Wedge, Toronto, ON. Born: Windsor, ON. A graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto, Dr. Kenneth Montague is a full-time dentist, as well as an art collector and curator. Since opening in 1992, Dr. Montague’s dental office has grown from an [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Kevin Junor

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TweetChief Warrant Officer, Military Diversity Advisor, Canadian Forces, Toronto, ON. Born: Birmingham, England. Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Kevin Junor joined the Canadian Forces in 1980, as an infantry soldier in the Toronto Scottish Regiment. In 1998, he was promoted to the rank of CWO and appointed to the position of Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM). He [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Daniel Pauly

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Tweet(Originally posted Jan. 18/2011. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Professor, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC. Born: Paris, France. Dr. Daniel Pauly is an international expert in the management of fisheries and the assessment of their effects on marine [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Constantine Campbell

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Tweet(Originally posted on Jan. 13, 2011. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Soil Research Scientist Emeritus / Consultant, Eastern Cereal & Oilseed Research Centre, Ottawa, ON. Born: Jamaica. Dr. Constantine Campbell is recognized worldwide as one of the foremost specialists in research on [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Charmaine Crooks

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Tweet(Originally posted on Dec. 20, 2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute, highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Olympian & Olympic Silver Medalist / President & Founder, NGU Consultants, Vancouver, BC.  Born: Jamaica. Five-time Olympian and Olympic Silver Medalist (1984, 4X400m relay), Charmaine Crooks represented Canada for close [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Ferguson Jenkins, Jr.

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TweetProfessional Baseball Player (Retired), Arizona. Born: Chatham, ON. Ferguson “Fergie” Arthur Jenkins, Jr. was a dominant right-handed pitcher known for strikeouts; eleventh on the all-time leader list with 3,192. He is the only pitcher to have more than 3,000 strikeouts with less than 1,000 walks (997). While pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and Boston [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Rella Aylestock Braithwaite

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TweetWriter / Historian, Toronto, ON. Born: Listowel, ON. (Originally posted Dec. 12/2010.) Rella Aylestock Braithwaite has been researching and recording the history of Blacks in Canada since the 1960s and has, through her publications, made significant contributions to the existing body of work. She began writing to ensure that her children knew their heritage. She wrote [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dan Hill

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Tweet(Originally profiled on Nov. 25, 2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute, highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Singer / Songwriter / Author, If Dreams Had Wings Music Ltd. & I Am My Father’s Son Records Inc. Born: Oakville, ON. Dan Hill is a Juno and Grammy Award-winning [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Ralph Gilles

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TweetPresident and CEO, Dodge Car Brand / Senior Vice President, Product Design, Chrysler Group LLC, Detroit, U.S.A. Born: New York, U.S.A. Ralph Gilles is the President and CEO of the Dodge Car Brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler. He is instrumental in revitalizing the Chrysler brand, leading his team in the design of the [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Michael Chambers

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Tweet(Originally posted Oct. 29/2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Photographic Artist / Publisher, Nok Photo Publishing, Toronto, ON. Born: Jamaica. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and having earned his Fine Arts degree at Toronto’s York University, Michael Chambers has been the recipient [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Henry Bishop

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TweetChief Curator / Artistic Director, Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, Dartmouth, NS. Born: Weymouth Falls, NS. At the start of his career, Dr. Henry Bishop was employed as a Communications Officer with the Black United Front of Nova Scotia, then worked independently in graphic design and photography. This led to his assisting the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, for which [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Christopher Dennis

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Tweet(Originally posted Oct. 20, 2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Technical Director, San Francsico Ballet, San Francisco, CA. Born: Toronto, ON. Christopher Dennis served as the Resident Lighting Designer and Lighting Coordinator at The National Ballet of Canada for 14 seasons. [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Travis Knights

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TweetTap Dancer / Choreographer, Knights Bros., Brampton, ON. Born: Montreal, QC. Tap dancer. Performer. Choreographer. Speaker. Believer. Montreal native, Travis Knights is realizing his dreams, pounding rhythms on wood floors all over the world. His talent and dedication have earned him audiences in Berlin, Genova, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Vancouver to name a [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dwight Drummond

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Tweet(Originally profiled on Oct. 12, 2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute, highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) News Anchor / Co-Host, CBC News, Toronto, ON. Born: Jamaica. News anchor Dwight Drummond is the co-host of CBC News Toronto. Dwight has been covering news in Toronto as an [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Dr. Kwesi Ampong-Nyarko

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Tweet(Originally posted Oct. 8/2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) Research Scientist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Edmonton, AB. Born: Ghana. Dr. Kwesi Ampong-Nyarko was born in a small village in Ghana where his parents were subsistence farmers practicing shifting cultivation and [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Ebonnie Rowe

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Tweet(Originally profiled Sept. 27/2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute highlighting 28 of Canada’s top influencers & trailblazers.) President, PhemPhat Entertainment Group, Toronto, ON. Born: Montreal, QC. Throughout her career, Ebonnie has distinguished herself as a special talent dedicated to the growth of others and the support of charitable causes. [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Measha Brueggergosman

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TweetSoprano, Classical Music. Born: Fredericton, New Brunswick. (Originally posted Sept. 3/2010. Re-posted today as part of our special Black History Month tribute.) Noted by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a singer of rare gifts and artistic intensity,” and by the Miami Herald for possessing “a superb voice capable of just about everything,” Canadian soprano Measha [...]

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by Ricardo McRae

Gloria Baylis

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TweetFounder,  Baylis Medical Company / Registered Nurse (Retired), Westmount, QC. Born: Barbados. Gloria Baylis, a native of Barbados, emigrated to Canada in 1952. As a registered nurse (trained in England and accredited in Canada), Gloria first attracted public attention in 1964. She applied for a nursing position at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal (then [...]

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