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| The Viola Desmond Day Awards celebrate strong, black Canadian women. From left: Rihab Ali, Grade 12 student, Jarvis Collegiate Institute; Paulette Kelly, School of Fashion professor; Shauna Marie Brown, third-year criminal justice; and Tanya Fermin-Poppleton, manager of operations, Security and Emergency Services. Photo credit: Clifton Li. |
By Antoinette Mercurio
School of Fashion professor Paulette Kelly remembers hearing when she was a child that there will never be a black president.
“I’m happy to see progress has been made over the years in civil rights and race relations,” she said. “What we achieved was not only of our hard work but those before us who paved the way. This generation has the freedom to choose any profession of their choice.”
Kelly received the Ms. Harriet Tubman Ryerson Faculty Award at Monday night’s Viola Desmond Day Awards ceremony. Tubman was the greatest “conductor” of the Underground Railroad after having escaped from slavery and leading more than 300 of her people to freedom.
In its fifth year, the Viola Desmond Day Awards celebrate the achievements of Halifax-born Desmond, who stood up for her rights in 1946 when she refused to move from the whites-only section at the Roseland movie theatre. Presented by the Black History Awareness Committee, the awards acknowledge four females who embody the strength and courage of Desmond.
Kelly was honoured because of her community commitment on- and off-campus. In 2009 she led a team of students to Ghana to design and locally produce uniforms for children and has written a paper on clothing needs for people with multiple sclerosis. Outside of Ryerson, she served on the National Technical Committee, was committee chair for the Skills Canada Competition, sits on the board of directors for the Ontario Black History Society and is a former president of the Kiwanis Club Sunshine Toronto.
· Ms. Rose Fortune Ryerson Staff Award – Tanya Fermin-Poppleton, manager of operations, Security and Emergency Services – Fermin-Poppleton is one of only three women, and the only black female, self-defence trainers in Canada in the R.A.D. Women’s Self-Defence Systems. Rose Fortune was the first female police officer in Canada.
· The Hon. Dr. Mary Ann Chambers Ryerson Student Award – Shauna Marie Brown, third-year criminal justice – An aspiring law student, Brown shows her creative side on Do-You.ca as a beauty blogger. She represents the Tri-Mentoring program where she actively engages in helping the community and her current initiative is Suit Up For Success, which provides free interview clothing for Ryerson students. A former banker and provincial politician, Chambers presented the award in person.
· Ms. Viola Desmond High School Student Award – Rihab Ali, Grade 12 student at Jarvis Collegiate Institute – Not her first award, Ali has received the Ujaamaa Participation Certificate and four-year High School Honour Roll Award. She has organized events for the Ujaamaa Black Students Association Assembly and continues to participate in various artistic formats such as spoken word. Rihab has a wide background of experience with the female community due to her female-only summer retreat programs with BABU, a Regent Park-based youth group.
In addition to the award, each year student winners receive a $500 bursary donated by Ellis Perryman, president of the Urban Financial Coalition, The Chang School and a human resources student group.
On display was a gallery walk depicting Desmond’s contributions to the civil rights movement and a copy of the official apology and full pardon she received in 2010 from the premier of Nova Scotia for being wrongfully jailed and fined in 1946.
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