Trailblazers in Law
Who was the first Black female lawyer in Canada?
Violet Pauline King
Who was the first Black woman in North America to publish and edit a newspaper?
Mary Ann Shadd
Who refused to leave the “Whites-only” section of a Nova Scotia theatre in 1946?
Viola Desmond
Who was the first Black person appointed to the Canadian Senate?
Anne Cools
Who grew up in Jamaica and later became a powerful CEO on Bay Street?
Wes Hall
Who was the first Canadian-born Black doctor?
Anderson Ruffin Abbott
Which newspaper did Carrie Best found in 1946?
The Clarion
Which activist publicly supported Viola Desmond during her case against the Roseland Theatre?
Carrie Best
How many years did Anne Cools serve in the Canadian Parliament before retiring in 2018?
34 years
What initiative did Wes Hall found to address systemic racism in Canadian boardrooms?
The BlackNorth Initiative
What profession did Violet Pauline King enter in 1956, despite people telling her it wasn’t for a “coloured girl”?
Law
What was the name of Carrie Best’s 12-year CBC Radio show?
The Quiet Corner
Where was Viola Desmond told she had to sit instead of the main floor?
The balcony
At what Montreal university did Anne Cools take part in sit-in protests?
Sir George Williams University (now Concordia)
Which year does Desmond Cole’s book The Skin We’re In document?
2017
After practicing criminal law, Violet Pauline King worked for which federal department?
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration
What community did Mary Ann Shadd’s newspaper, The Provincial Freeman, focus on?
The Black community of Upper Canada
What two causes did Mary Ann Shadd spend her life fighting for?
The abolition of slavery and equality for all humans
In 2021, Wes Hall was ranked #16 on the “50 most powerful people in Canada” list by which magazine?
Maclean’s
Which Canadian newspaper named Wes Hall one of the nation’s most influential powerbrokers?
The Globe and Mail
What subject did Anderson Ruffin Abbott often write about later in life?
Black history
Who wrote The Skin We’re In and is a modern voice in Canadian journalism?
Desmond Cole
Which controversial police practice in Toronto did Desmond Cole fight against?
Police carding
What type of safe spaces for women did Anne Cools help to establish in Canada?
Women’s shelters
Who was named one of CBC Books’ “Writers to Watch” in July 2020?
Desmond Cole