Two Black LGBTQ Refugee Advocates Receive Awards for their Work

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed. Karlene Williams-Clarke with Lawrence Spicer from RBC, a sponsor of the Bonham Centre Awards.

Two well-known African Canadian LGBTQ refugee advocates with Jamaican heritage are among four recipients of the Bonham Centre Awards, which this year focused on queer refugee advocacy.

The awards were established in 2008 to recognize an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to the advancement of and education about sexual diversity.
Mark S Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto and RBC are the sponsors of the awards.

Karlene Williams-Clarke is the manager of direct services at The 519, an organization dedicated to advocacy for the inclusion of LGBTQ communities, and Kimahli Powell is the executive director of Rainbow Railroad, a not-for-profit organization that assists LGBTQ+ people around the world facing persecution based on their sexual orientation to escape to a place or country of safety.

The other two recipients are: Danny Ramadan, a Syrian-Canadian author, public speaker, storyteller and an LGBTQ-refugee activist, and Vitit Muntarbhorn, a professor emeritus at the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; and an international law and human rights expert.

They were presented with the awards on April 19 at Hart House, University of Toronto, after earlier that day participating in a symposium on LGBT refugees and migration. 

“The fact that I stand before you defines the far reaching leadership of women of colour in queer and trans human rights activism,” said Williams-Clarke.

She said her global experience working with survivors of homophobic and transphobia violence, and people stigmatized by HIV and AIDS, began in Jamaica where she was born.

She served as co-chair of Jamaica Forum for Lesbians and Gays (JFLAG) and chair of the lesbian and bi-sexual women’s group, Women for Women (WfW) and paid homage to them for nurturing her passion.

“ Today, my work focuses on queer and trans newcomer communities who were forced to flee extreme acts of violence and arrive in Canada coping with unprecedented levels of trauma.”

Williams-Clarke said she is fortunate to be a member of the leadership team at The 519, a City of Toronto agency working with LGBTQ2S communities to advance inclusion. 

“My team supports queer and trans newcomers facing numerous challenges with settlement and a sense of belonging in their new home, Canada.”

A board member of Rainbow Railroad and region team lead, she said “this small but mighty organization led approximately 200 people to safety in 2017 and 81 so far in 2018.”

“The tireless work of both organizations has given me the opportunity to change lives. I share this award with my teams and the beautiful queer and trans people who have allowed me to journey with them. I feel very privileged to be recognized for my greatest passion,” said the social justice activist.

A few years ago, Williams-Clarke was the 2013 Pioneers for Change – LGBTQ Initiative honouree.

Photo contributed. Kimahli Powell, executive director of Rainbow Railroad, left, with Danny Ramadan, a Syrian-Canadian author and public speaker.

Rainbow Railroad has been successful in helping individuals from the Caribbean, Africa and Middle East where it has local networks to support and validate cases. 

At any given time, the organization is working on 30-50 open cases, confirming their details, putting them in touch with local resources and helping them identify safe routes for escape. 

Powell, who was born in Canada and is of Jamaican parentage, has a wide range of experience in the non-profit sector and has spent more than fifteen years advocating for social justice, youth, arts and culture. 

He was the director of development and outreach at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, senior development officer at Dignitas International, director of development at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival, and held other leadership positions with organizations in Toronto and Ottawa.

Michael Battista, a founder of Rainbow Railroad, accepted the award on behalf of Powell who was unable to attend the ceremony.

Ramadan’s English debut novel, “The Clothesline Swing,” was long-listed for Canada Reads, and shortlisted for the Evergreen Award. 

As an LGBTQ activist, he has been involved in coordinating online and on the ground efforts to support queer and trans-identifying refugees from Syria to immigrate to Canada. 

Muntarbhorn has served in several capacities as a pro bono United Nations expert, such as the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the first UN Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.  

He is the recipient of several awards, including the 2004 UNESCO Human Rights Education Prize, and the Honorary Human Rights Prize from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.

[This story has been published in the North American Weekly Gleaner, May 3-9, 2018.]