Super Architect and former President of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Sam Oboh; successful road construction entrepreneur, Edward Andrews; fantastic Town Manager and exciting former Edmonton Police Commissioner, Keli Tamaklo; African grocery store guru, Charity Druwaa; the tireless elected politician, MLA David Shepherd; Engineering maverick, Michael Lawal; former elected politician, MLA Lindsay Blackett; former elected politician, former Deputy Speaker of Alberta Legislature, and former Leduc Councillor and Mayor, MLA George Rogers; Grey Cup winning Edmonton Eskimos General Manager, Ed Hervey; Edmonton Poet Laureate, Ahmed Knowmadic; and community super builder Sahra Aden of Somali Canadian Women and Children Association.
What do these people all have in common? They are people of African descent making significant contributions to our great province, Alberta, and wonderful country, Canada.
It’s February. It’s Black History Month. It’s the time to not only learn about the history of African descendants in North America, but also to celebrate the achievements of people of African descent.
Created in 1926 in the United States, recognized in Canada in 1995, Alberta joined in last year due to the tireless efforts of Edmonton-Centre MLA, David Shepherd.
On January 29, 2018, at West Edmonton Mall, MLA David Shepherd shared the stage with MLA Prab Gill, MLA Jon Carson, Edmonton Police, great cultural performances, and a host of others to launch Black History Month 2018 in Edmonton. Organized by the National Black Coalition, Edmonton Chapter, the President Dr. Mertella Montague received the proclamation from Edmonton City Councillor, Sarah Hamilton. The event kick starts a series of Black History Month events in Edmonton.
Black history in Canada cannot be traced without spotlighting some challenges faced by people of African descent. Most notable is the issue of racism and discrimination.
In the Summer of 2017, Premier Rachel Notley task Alberta Minister for Education, David Eggen, to lead a series of community conversations about racism in Alberta, to find practical steps the government can take to help Albertans who experience racism. The report was expected to be made public in the Fall of 2017 but it’s not out yet. So Diversity Magazine reached out to the Spokesperson for Alberta Education, Lindsay Harvey, for some updates. She said they expect the report soon. They received lots of interest with over 2,000 people responding to their online survey. She did not confirm what the next steps are, but will wait to see what the communities and the Premier want to pursue after the report.
