By Lincoln DePradine
All of Canada claims the late Lincoln Alexander. Nevertheless, he holds a particular place within the hearts of the folks of Hamilton, Ontario, the place he lived starting as a teen till his dying in 2012.
The Afro Canadian Caribbean Affiliation (ACCA) in Hamilton, for instance, has held an annual commemorative occasion annually on “Lincoln Alexander Day’’, which was final Sunday.
For this 12 months’s “Celebration Honouring the Legacies of Lincoln Alexander and Martin Luther King, Jr’’, the affiliation mentioned it needed to “commemorate the exceptional lives and distinctive achievements of those two extraordinary people’’.
The ACCA occasion included an handle by Dr. Clare Warner, senior advisor for fairness, inclusion and anti-racism at McMaster College in Hamilton.
Ontario formally proclaimed January 21 as “Lincoln Alexander Day in 2013. It was acknowledged nationwide in 2015.
This 12 months’s foremost occasion within the province was the disclosing of a commemorative bronze bust of Alexander on the legislative constructing at Queen’s Park.
Alexander, a former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, loved a profession that spanned the fields of politics and army and tutorial service.
His life’s actions are documented in his memoir, titled “Go to Faculty, You’re a Little Black Boy’’, which was revealed in 2006.
He was acknowledged by having a commemorative stamp produced in his honour and several other faculties – together with one in Hamilton – have been named for him.
Hamilton, the place Alexander studied at McMaster College to earn his first diploma in economics and historical past in 1949, is also house to the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway.
As effectively, Toronto Metropolitan College has named its regulation college after Alexander.
In 1992, Alexander was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada and to the Order of Ontario.
Alexander’s “unwavering advocacy for Black Canadians and dedication to selling fairness via social justice, training, race relations and youth points make him a job mannequin for current and future generations’’, federal authorities minister Kamal Khera mentioned in an announcement marking Lincoln Alexander Day 2024.
Alexander, had he been alive, would have celebrated his 102nd birthday final Sunday.
“All through his life, he additionally paved the best way for the development and equality of Canadians from all backgrounds. As a trailblazer, he used his voice and platform to defend the rights and pursuits of marginalized communities, tirelessly working to advertise inclusion by breaking down racial and ethnocultural limitations,’’ mentioned Khera, minister of range, inclusion and individuals with disabilities.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in a message on Lincoln Alexander Day, described him as an “Ontario trailblazer and a fantastic Canada’’; somebody who “labored tirelessly to finish racial discrimination and make our province a greater and extra equitable place’’.
“We are able to all be taught from the instance of Lincoln Alexander as we work collectively to construct a province that is freed from discrimination and presents alternatives for all,’’ the premier mentioned within the message, which was learn on his behalf ultimately Sunday’s bust unveiling ceremony at Queen’s Park, by Conservative MPP Patrice Barnes, parliamentary assistant to training minister Stephen Lecce.
