By ARNOLD A. AUGUSTE, Publisher/Senior Editor
I have been involved in media in our community for almost 52 years and I have seen a number of community newspapers come and go. I don’t remember the closure of any of them attracting the kind of response that the recent closure of Share attracted.
So, this week, as we mark the 46th anniversary of this newspaper, and our third month back after a six-month absence, we give you the credit, we applaud you. This is your newspaper’s anniversary.
I have also been reviewing the stories that we covered over the past few months, and I get it. Most of those stories were not covered anywhere else and if we hadn’t covered them, they would have remained untold. Or as Gray might say, “waste (their) sweetness on the desert air”.
A story that I found very interesting is that of renowned surgeon Dr. Everton Gooden who was recently named President and CEO of North York General Hospital and who, as a high school student, worked part time as a housekeeper in a hospital’s operating room.
Another is the story of the Toronto Transit Commission’s celebration of Black History Month which mentioned the Chairman of the TTC, Jamaal Myers who, as a university student, spent three summers cleaning the TTC’s trains to help pay for his education. Now he chairs the Commission as a city councillor.
Another story that really resonated with us was the one in last month’s issue about Alex Betancourt who was hired as Brampton’s first Black female firefighter. The grit and determination of this young woman will be an inspiration for young Black girls everywhere for a very long time.
We love to tell those stories as they are inspirational and can serve as encouragement for our children. And even for the rest of us.
These are among the number of stories and features that we have since published that would not have seen the light of day had you, our readers, not insist that we get back to work So, thanks for that.
We really love the work we do and are honoured that you share our passion for this newspaper.
In this month’s issue, we are honoured to join our voices in remembering the late Roy McMurtry Jr. who passed away last month at the age of 91.
The former attorney general and legal giant was a great friend of our community long before that was cool and at a time when we didn’t have many friends in high places.
He was a mentor and friend to many young Black lawyers encouraging and supporting them as they joined the ranks of our province’s legal community.
That was not easy back in the day. Just getting a law firm to take them on after law school was a challenge. Today, there are Black lawyers on Bay Street, some as partners in prestigious law firms and many have gone on to become judges, including senior judges.
We have come a long way, haven’t we?
In February’s Black History Month issue, I mentioned the barriers Black West Indians faced in trying to come to Canada, that one of the excuses immigration officials used to deny us was that we would not be able to stand the cold. That came as a surprise to some. One woman who was born here to Caribbean parents called to ask if that was true. She thought it might have been a joke. It might sound like a joke now, but it was not for all those who were denied the opportunity the rest of us were finally afforded.
But that didn’t come about by chance. It was only through the dogged determination of our community leaders of the time, people such as Don Moore, Harry Gairey, Stan Grizzle, Bromley Armstrong and many others who made it their mission to impress on the government of the day the need to open up immigration to people from the Caribbean.
Were it not for them, things might have been quite different for many of us.
Then there were challenges the new immigrants faced – in employment, in the school system, with the police, with immigration and in just about every other facet of life.
Today, if you can afford it you can live just about anywhere you wish. There was a time that was not the case, especially in terms of rental accommodation. One would respond to an ad for a rental apartment or even a room and told it was available only to find that it was “just rented” when they visited the property.
Our people, together with allies in the wider community, stepped up, some at great personal risk to themselves and to their careers to pave the way for a better life for the rest of us.
We owe so much to these people on whose shoulders we stand today.
On the cover of our February issue, we published the photos of some members of our community who have done us proud over the years. They were a small number of the many to whom we owe so much. These are some of the people who stepped up to fight for and defend our community over the years. We need to remember and to honour them.
When we think of Black history, we usually refer to what took place – and the people involved – hundreds of years ago. But we have had a very interesting story taking place right here over the past 75 years or so. Do you remember – and do our young people know of – the many demonstrations that were staged through the streets of this city back in the day as members of our community protested unfair conditions and refused to take no for an answer? The demonstrations against unfair treatment by the police? The vigils that were held outside the school board’s offices in the cold and rain?
They were responsible for changing policies and even attitudes towards us that laid the groundwork for the kind of society we enjoy today.
It has been said that power is never given, it has to be taken. The same can be said for equity and inclusion. The benefits we enjoy today, the freedom to live, work and to make progress in this society weren’t handed to us; our people worked for them, they fought for them and they earned them honestly so that we and our children can have a brighter future.
The job is not done, of course. We have come a long way but there is still a way to go. And it is up to us to remember that. Until we no longer need policies in place to ensure fairness and equity we need to be vigilant.
It is easy to forget the struggles in times when things are going relatively well. But it is important to remember from where we came – and how – so that we can understand our path to the future.
It has been said that journalism is the first draft of history. Having been part of this community for the past 46 years means that Share has been a part of this history, and the recording of this history. Thanks for reminding us of this and for reminding us of our need – no, our duty – to continue to record and to share our evolving history.
