February is nationally recognized as a time to acknowledge and learn from the contributions people of African heritage have made to communities and workplaces in Canada.

In 1995, Jean Augustine, the first African-Canadian woman elected to Parliament, made the motion for communities across Canada to officially recognize February as “Black History Month.”

Working people acknowledge the commitment of individuals like Bromley Armstrong, a union activist who promoted equal rights. In 1954, The Fair Accommodation Act became Ontario law, stating “No one can deny to any person or class of persons the accommodation, services or facilities usually available to members of the public.” When businessmen in Dresden, Ontario refused to comply, Armstrong organized sit-ins. Charges laid against these establishments were upheld in court, the first successful test of laws making discrimination illegal in Canada. Armstrong also helped domestic workers brought to Canada to access pensions that would otherwise be denied to them.

Such efforts helped to raise the profile of black workers, enabling a stronger presence within the trade union movement.  The formation of the Sleeping Car Porters Union, with organizers such as Stanley Grizzle sent an early, powerful message that workers of colour belong in the labour movement. Today, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists advocates making issues of discrimination and racism (in both workplaces and unions) a top priority. We all benefit from the knowledge, skills and abilities of trade union activists of African descent.

Did You Know?

There is a long list of inventions by people of African descent. For example:

• George Crum invented potato chips in 1853. When a restaurant customer complained that his french fries were cut too thick, in anger Crum cut them as thin as he could, threw a handful of salt on them and sent them back. The customer loved them and us snackers have never looked back.

• Sarah Goode was the first black woman to receive a US patent. In 1885 she invented a folding cabinet bed, furniture by day, a bed at night. This was 30 years before the Murphy bed.

• You may not know about Elijah McCoy’s automatic oil cup, but you’ve probably heard the phrase that it generated. His invention was so successful in the rail industry that competitors were soon making cheap knockoffs. Engineers knew that McCoy’s cups were the best, so they asked for “the real McCoy.”

• While home security systems today are more advanced than ever, back in 1966 the idea for a home surveillance device seemed almost unthinkable. A female black inventor Marie Van Brittan Brown, and her partner, applied for an invention patent for a closed-circuit television security system – the forerunner to the modern home security system.

• Lewis Latimer invented carbon filament for light bulbs. Edison’s initial bulb used a paper filament that burned out in 15 minutes. The carbon filament created a longer-lasting bulb.

• Philip B. Downing invented the SLB: a street letter drop mailbox with a hinged door that closed to protect the mail in 1891.

African-Canadians continue to contribute to a better life for all of us. This month and every month, we keep building a stronger movement for social change.