Editor
Good morning folks
Ottawa has suffered a great loss with the passing of highly respected Black community leader, Lucya Spencer on 15 February, our Top Story for the March edition of Black Ottawa Scene. Lucya was a strong voice for women’s issues; she will be missed, not only by her family but by the entire Black community in the national capital region.
In the midst of our sadness, we are somewhat cheered by the recent appointment of long-time crown prosecutor, Marlyse Dumel, to the Ontario Court of Justice. Black History Month celebrations rightly dominate this edition, with reports from Colonel By Secondary School, Canada’s Senate, US Embassy “North Is Freedom”art exhibition, Nunavut mental health seminar, and Canada Post‘s unveiling of the Mathieu Da Costa commemorative stamp. Regular contributor Illili Ahmed is featured in the Youth In Action page with her poem in honour of the International Women’s Day.
In our monthly Interview, we report our conversation with Egyptian-born Settlement Counsellor, Anne Youssef. We provide our readers with a triple treat in the Guest columns with Bishop Jacob Afolabi, who is making his first in what we expect to be a continuing series of articles for Black Ottawa Scene, plus regular contributors Andy Kusi-Appiah and retired police officer, Calvin Lawrence. In our new section Black History, we carry the story of Estelle and Herbert Brown, a couple that were among the earliest immigrants to Ottawa from the Caribbean.
Our special reports include the winners of the 2017 Black History Ottawa Community Builder awards and the winning entries from the RBC Royal Bank 2017 Black History Month essay competition. In Sports, we report on the success of Cameroon in the 2017 African Cup of Nations
All these and more in the March 2017 edition of Black Ottawa Scene.
Do remember to read the Letter from the Editor. And also take part in the March 2017 poll: Should Canada accept all refugees walking across the border from the US to Canada?
Here is the result of the February, 2017 poll:
Have you ever attended a Black History Month event?
Yes 89%
No 11%
Thank you to all who took part in the survey. And keep the Letters to the Editor coming. We need your feedback to keep us on our toes!
Stay blessed!
Godwin Ifedi
Editor