We are thrilled to kick off the East & West Dialogue in 2021 with two prominent Black leaders in Canada! The monthly event invites people of different heritages to come over to our organization as guest speakers, and share their life stories, thoughts and suggestions with our audience, many of whom are immigrants. We are deeply grateful to the guest speakers for volunteering their time and expertise to help immigrants learn more about Canadian society, people and customs, as well as to promote communications among people from different cultural backgrounds.
(Poster created by Christina Wang. Photos courtesy of Rosemary Sadlier and George Elliott Clarke.)
In This Dialogue:
George Elliott Clarke is a poet and professor. Rosemary Sadlier is a social activist, Author, and Speaker. They share many things in common: having had great achievements and received highly recognitions in their own fields across Canada, family trees dated centuries back in the country, and prominent advocates for social justice, among other traits. They grew up in quite different environments. Rosemary lived in a very white neighbourhood in Toronto when she was a kid, while George was familiar with both city and rural life of Black Nova Scotians from childhood. How have their life experiences shaped their growth paths and perspectives of the world? What are the driving forces behind their remarkable success? What barriers have they experienced and how have they coped with them? What opportunities and challenges do they see that the Black community in Canada is facing? How do they feel about the Asian community with regards to stereotyping, marginalization and racism? What suggestions do they have for immigrants to live in Canada with a bit more ease and grace?
Guest Speaker Biography:
Rosemary Sadlier OOnt (Order of Ontario) is a social justice advocate, researcher, writer, consultant, and international speaker on Black History, anti-racism and women’s issues. She is the past President, serving for 22 years as the unpaid leader of the Ontario Black History Society – being the driving force of the secured commemoration of February as Black History Month at all levels of government; she secured August 1st as Emancipation Day municipally in 1995 and provincially in 2008 with a national declaration pending. She saw to the creation of the national day for the Hon. Lincoln Alexander. She is the Royal Commonwealth Society Equality Lead for the Americas and the Caribbean and has given deputations to the UN Rapporteur on Race Relations, the Federal and Provincial Governments and on consultative work with the Royal Ontario Museum, CMHR, The Ward heritage interpretative group, the Bi-National Study of the Underground Railroad and heritage conferences. Previously she served on the final selection committee of the national Mathieu Da Costa Challenge for Canadian Heritage and is a past member of the Canada Post Stamp Advisory Committee. An educator, she has developed or contributed to African Canadian curriculum, resources, national exhibits and she was an appointed member of the College of Early Childhood Educators. She was among the first Canadians designated a Global Defender of Human Rights (CTF & Robert Kennedy Center). An author, Sadlier has written 7 books on African Canadian history. Sadlier is dedicated to social justice and using the frame of Black History, seeks to educate and empower others
https://about.me/rosemarysadlier
The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke is a revered artist in song, drama, fiction, screenplay, essays, and poetry. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960, George was educated at the University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, and Queen’s University. He is also a pioneering scholar of African-Canadian literature. A professor of English at the University of Toronto, George has taught at Duke, McGill, the University of British Columbia, and Harvard. He holds eight honorary doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer. His recognitions include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry,, the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award.
https://www.georgeelliottclarke.net/
We cordially invite you to come to meet Rosemary and George on Zoom, bring your own questions, and have a genuine dialogue with our esteemed guest speakers!
Time: Friday March 26, 2021 at 7:30 – 9 P.M., Eastern Time
Language: English
Cost: Free
Please click below link to register. Zoom meeting information will be given in the confirmation email once you submit the registration.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtc-ivrDIqH9H5BJk6P2TMlrK9VnWxPImm
Space is limited. First come, first served. Zoom floor will open 15 minutes before the meeting time.
For inquiries, please email us at info@eawlc.org. Thanks!
Eastern or Western, old or young, everyone is welcome!