Five J’cans named to Viola Desmond awards

TORONTO:

Five individuals of Jamaican heritage were among 14 honoured at the 16th annual Viola Desmond awards and bursary ceremony organised by Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada.

Camara Chambers, Ashley Jane Lewis, Faith-Ann Clarke, Chelsi Campbell and Cris Nippard were fêted by the programme that, “promotes black flourishing, shining a light on the phenomenal black women and black gender-diverse people whose labour, creativity, passion and skills are positively impacting the entire TMU community.”

Pamela Appelt, a retired judge of the Court of Canadian Citizenship and patron of the Viola Desmond Awards, received a special recognition in The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres where the event was held.

Desmond’s act of civil disobedience occurred at the Roseland Theatre on November 8, 1946, in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, when she refused to leave a whites-only section of the cinema to sit upstairs which was designated for black people.

Chambers, a celebrated leader, hailed as one of 100 Black Women in Canada to Watch and a Civic Action Diverse City Fellow, received the staff award.

Born to Jamaican parents, and raised in England – her father is from May Pen and mother from Port Antonio – she leveraged her law degree from the University of Liverpool to champion impactful change. She has led pivotal initiatives, including a national policy programme at Europe’s largest LGBTQ charity and directing Volunteer Toronto, Canada’s largest volunteer centre.

“My community work has been rooted in different types of equity work. I do public policy work right now working for a think tank in the university but outside of work I do lots of volunteering,” said Chambers.

She is the director of leadership development at The Dais – a public policy and leadership think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University – crafts programmes that mould future Canadian leaders.

She launched the Dais Talks on Anti-Racism, engaging community leaders, politicians, and experts in vital public discussions.

DIVERSE COMMUNITY

Lewis, a new media artist and creative technologist with a focus on bio art, interactivity, social justice and speculative design, received the alumni award. She holds degrees from Toronto Metropolitan University and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

She said Desmond reminded her a lot of her late paternal grandmother, Suzanna Lewis, from Clarendon “who suffered no fools.”

“I look to her as the reason for my work; I long to make her proud. In my Jamaican heritage, people who passed are still with you. She’s here with me today and so I’m excited for her to witness my receiving this award, and I am so proud to be able to occupy some of the strength and tenacity that she had that led her well into her 90s. I aspire to be like her one day,” said Lewis.

Lewis is part of the inaugural cohort of black Postdoctoral Fellows at TMU’s Black Scholarship Institute continuing her work on black culture and micro-organisms.

Nippard, 19, a black, queer radical who is in their second year pursuing a bachelor of journalism with a minor in LGBTQ Studies at TMU, was the recipient of the student award.

Clarke, 21, a multitalented creative who recently graduated with distinction from Toronto Metropolitan University’s RTA School of Media, in the Media Production programme with a concentration in Television and Film, received a student bursary.

Born and raised in Toronto’s vibrant and culturally rich East Side, Campbell, also the recipient of a student bursary, takes immense pride in her roots.

Growing up in a diverse community has profoundly influenced her worldview.

“I am in the media industry and a public part of what I’m trying to do is create a space where Black women’s voices are heard, our stories are told authentically by us for us. And I think this award provides us with a platform to be able to share our stories from all different industries and walks of life.”