Creating, Building, Nurturing and Sustaining Mentoring Communities

Written by: Iyanuoluwa Akinrinola and Anne C. Clarke

As the world continues to celebrate the international theme of Resistance for Black History Month 2023, the Ottawa Theme is “Our Canadian Story: Legacies Worth Preserving, Celebrating and Creating. Part of our legacy, worth remembering is the resistance of a little-known slave girl named Chloe Cooley, who even though she was never free from her Master’s cruel grip as she was dragged to a waiting boat to be resold across the Niagara River, her cries for help, set the legal process in motion to stop the then, legal slave trade in Canada.

As Black Women, we not only celebrate her life and courage, but 2023 marks three significant milestones in Canadian history. The 230th Anniversary of The Anti-Slavery Act on July 9th, 1793, to abolish slavery in what was then called Upper Canada, now modern-day Ontario; the 190th anniversary of the August 28, 1833 Act to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire, including Canada, and the 5th Anniversary of the United Nations Decade for People of African Descent, signed by Ottawa on March 21st 2018.

In hindsight, even before the terminology of ‘feminism’ ever existed, with the word being coined by Charles Fourier, a utopian French socialist, in 1837, then known as ‘feminisme’ , Black Women were resisting enslavement. They were building and maintaining mentoring communities wherever they were transported across the open seas to strange lands or on the lands their forebearers.

They were the first known suffragettes, since the English only began using the word in the 1890s, as it was associated with equal political and legal rights for women which excluded Black, Indigenous and other People of Colour. An exclusion, challenged on May 29th, 1851, by Sojourner Truth, at a Women’s Convention in her now famous speech – Aint I a Woman? . Born into slavery, and later becoming an abolitionist, she had been resisting chains and fighting for freedom long before feminism was understood or claimed that giving a voice and choice to women must include all women regardless of their colour, economic or social status.

Further, according to Dr. Nancy Janovicek, PhD, an Associate Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary, before women’s suffrage was voiced, trailblazers, such as, “Mary Ann Shadd demanded universal suffrage (the right to vote) and women’s equality in the Provincial Freeman in the 1850s,” Again, this was“ decades before the first evidence that we have of women’s suffrage organizing in Canada.” A little-known fact is that Shadd was the first Black Canadian woman to earn a law degree in 1893 (Heritage, 2022).

Other trailblazers included, “Rosemary Brown, a noteworthy politician, educator and social activist who advocated for racial and gender equality. Brown founded the British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (BCAACP) in 1956 to help people access housing, employment and legislation resources. In 1972, she was the first Black woman elected to political office in Canada. A few years later, she campaigned under “Brown is Beautiful” and ran for leader of the NDP, coming in at a close second. In 1989, we honoured her as a recipient of a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award” (Foskin & Taunu, 2021).

“The Honourable Jean Augustine became the first African Canadian woman elected to Parliament and subsequently the first Black woman in a federal Cabinet. In February 2002, she was elected Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In the same year, she was appointed Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women) and embarked on a successful campaign for legislation to recognize Black History Month in Canada. In 2003, she was re-appointed to the new Cabinet as Minister of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women). In 2004, she was appointed Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees, making her the first Black woman to occupy the Speaker’s Chair in the House of Commons” (Hill Solutions, 2020).

Sandy Hudson, a Toronto activist, writer, community organizer, and public intellectual, co-founded the Black Legal Action Centre. This non-profit legal aid clinic delivers free legal services to low-and-no-income Black Ontarians. Hudson also co-founded the Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLMTO) movement, becoming an advocate for those affected by anti-Black racism. Hudson learned her role through her community organizing experience. Growing up in a predominantly white school in Brampton, she had to learn how to disrupt the system effectively. Today, through her writings and community work, she speaks on how activism and the urgent push for change are one of the most critical aspects of the BLM movement” (AMAPCEO, 2017).

Today (2022 – 2023), the women of Maama Watali, through the Maama Support Circles (MSC) project, are working with community members to create a mentoring community for Black and other racialized women and their families. This project aims to empower women, regardless of their social and economic status or gender identity, to be equipped with the necessary resources to build their confidence to live in relationships free from all forms of violence in their personal and professional lives. Under the leadership of Susan Namulindwa (Founder & Director) and Anne Clarke (Project Lead), in May 2022, Maama Support Circles obtained a multi-year grant focused on helping Black and newcomer women to rebuild self-esteem and confidence as part of the healing process after traumatic experiences in their personal and professional lives. Maama Support Circles has mobilized to educate and build awareness of the supports available to Black and racialized women. MSC will help women navigate accessing support systems, establish or reestablish personal and professional relationships, overcome economic barriers, and work with trusted and culturally responsive professionals to combat the mental health impact and stigmas that are brought on by intimate partner violence.

For more information and to learn more about the organization please explore our website further. Volunteers are always needed. Join in helping to make a difference in your life and in the lives of Black Led families.

We urge you to connect with us and share with us some of your ideas and understanding of how we can work together to combat Gender-Based Violence and intimate partner violence, mainly as it affects the lives and livelihood of Black women in our National Capital Region and all over Canada.

Learn More about Black History & Womanhood:

Black Canadian Feminists And Trailblazers You Should Know About

Never give up: A (short) history of feminism in Canada

Periodic Table of Canadian Black History

The legacy and impact of Black Canadian women’s organizations

Trailblazers: Black Women in Canadian Politics

References:

Allford, J. (2020, July 31). Never give up: A (short) history of feminism in Canada. Explore UCalgary. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://explore.ucalgary.ca/short_history_feminism_Canada

AMAPCEO. Profiles of prominent Black Canadians and organizations. (2021, February 17). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://amapceo.on.ca/black-history-month-profiles

Dictionary (2023). Women’s Movement: What does Feminism actually mean.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/womens-movement-what-does-feminism-actually-mean/

Foskin, G., & Taunu, M. (2021, February 18). Black Canadian feminists and trailblazers you should know about. YWCA Metro Vancouver. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://ywcavan.org/blog/2021/02/black-canadian-feminists-and-trailblazers-you-should-know-about

Heritage, C. (2022, May 17). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month/legacies-institutions.html

Hill Solutions. (2020). Biography. Jean Augustine. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://jeanaugustine.ca/jean-augustine-bio/