YWCA Toronto Honours Zanana Akande for Her Public Service

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed    Zanana Akande speaking at the 2018 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto on May 24, 2018.

Zanana Akande, a strong advocate for equity and social justice, is pleased to be the 2018 YWCA Women of Distinction award recipient for public service.

The educator, policy shaper and community advocate says the YWCA is an organization for which she has had a great deal of respect “because of the marvelous work they do for women and girls.”

The award also seemed to her to be one of receiving an award “for those things that we should do, we should all do.”

“We all contribute; we all contribute in one way or the other. And when we see holes in the society, when we see flaws in the society we seek to correct them to fill those holes.”

One of the errors that she saw was that Black Canadians were omitted from the places where decisions were made and therefore the decisions that were made for “the community of women and the community of Black women were often omitted. Our voices weren’t heard.”

“We weren’t there, so I sought to be there to point it out and from there, people began to invite me to serve in various situations. And I used that service not only to speak to our needs and our wants but also to speak to our equity.”

She told them that the voices of women needed to be in the decision-making and that women had specific concerns about employment such as promotion and earning the salaries that aligned with their qualifications.

“All of those things were there and doubly so because I was speaking not only for women but for Black women also, so when you double the focus you double the needs sometimes because even after the society and community began to acquiesce and had more women involved very often they were not women of colour.”

Akande was among eight women who received awards at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto on May 24. 

The other recipients are: Dr. Pat Armstrong (health and education), Julia Deans (business), Lynn Factor (president’s award), Margaret Hancock (social justice), Marcie Ponte (community builder), Dr. Milica Radisic (health science), and Toyo Ajibolade, (young woman of distinction).

Born in a family of educators, Akande’s teaching career with the Toronto District School Board was a vindication of sorts for her parents (from St. Lucia and Barbados) who were denied the right to hold teaching positions in Canada. 

A former principal, she later entered politics and was recognized as the first Black woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1990. 

In her appointment as Minister of Community and Social Services, she made political history in becoming the first Black woman to hold a cabinet position in Canada. 

Her time in office was instrumental in shaping public policies fundamental to the lives of marginalized women. 

She led a meaningful social welfare reform that materialized in increases to social assistance rates and benefits supporting women in shelters. She understood the importance of food security when she approved precedent setting governmental support for the food bank system. 

Her strong voice as a cabinet minister and as the parliamentary assistant to the premiere contributed to the passing of Ontario’s first mandatory employment equity legislation – legislation that would institutionalize rights and break down barriers for all women in the workplace. 

With the Ontario general election approaching, Akande is impressed and excited by the number of Black women – thirteen -- running for office. 

She said there were women who stood for election before she did and that was extremely important. She worked in their campaigns for seats in the various levels of the government but there were few of them.

Akande was excited about Rosemary Brown’s election in British Columbia in 1972 and felt that her voice would bring a great deal to the discussion that otherwise would not have been there.

“And to see now that it has grown to thirteen, I’m always impatient. Now that we have thirteen running, I’m pushing, I want it to be forty,” she said.

 “I won’t be satisfied until our voices are heard and our faces are seen in every institution, in every corporation, in every part of the society. And not only as window dressing but heard for the content that we have to contribute.”

She remembered Carolann Wright, another Black woman running in the 1990 Ontario general election for the NDP but Wright lost to Ian Scott of the Ontario Liberal Party. 

In 1988, Wright became the first Black woman to run in a municipal election for the position of mayor of Toronto.

Akande was looking forward to being in government with Wright and noted that there were many women in the government in which she served. 

“Many of them had cabinet positions and it was a different voice, and it was great to have the opportunity to work with them.”

Akande also co-founded Tiger Lily, the first magazine/journal in Ontario grounded in the voices and experiences of women of colour. This magazine proved to be a profoundly empowering forum for women within the racialized, immigrant and refugee community – shedding light on a richness of women’s experiences that would otherwise have remained invisible.

Since her retirement from public life, Akande has continued to be engaged in her community, lending her wisdom and her energies to various social justice initiatives. She is valued as a treasured elder on whose shoulders so many women will stand to achieve their deserved height in the world.

Zanana Akande in conversation with Marva Wisdom of Operation Black Vote Canada at A Different Booklist in Toronto.

Zanana Akande and Rita Cox at the 5th annual Underground Railroad Freedom Train Ride on July 31,  2017.

Clem Marshall and Zanana at the 'Welcome to Blackhurst St. Exhibition' in 2016.

Zanana with Angela Robertson and Debbie Douglas at the Toronto Reference Library at a Legal Aid Ontario meeting with the Black Community in September 2017.

In April, Mayor John Tory announced that he will present the Key to the City to seven distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to the City of Toronto.

This represents the highest honour that the city can confer on an individual or a group.

Akande is among the recipients, the others are: Susan Gapka, community activist;
Wilmot (Wil) and Judy Matthews, philanthropists; Pat Moore, community advocate;
Peter Oundjian, musician/conductor; and Fran Sonshine, philanthropist.

She has served many organizations over the years including the YWCA, Centennial College, Harbourfront Centre and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. 

The mayor is presenting Akande with a Key to the City for dedicating her life's work to addressing equity issues in the community and improving the social, economic, cultural and political status of women in Toronto.

"This group of outstanding individuals is made up of leaders, community builders, trailblazers and role models. They have enriched our city in untold ways and we are forever grateful for their work and commitment toward making Toronto a better place," said Mayor Tory.

Akande will officially receive her Key to the City at a presentation that will be announced when a date is confirmed.

Since amalgamation, fifty-nine Keys to the City have been presented by mayors of Toronto. 

The mayor awards the key to inspiring individuals from diverse backgrounds who embody the spirit and potential of Toronto and have contributed significantly to civic life. 

On June 9, she will be the keynote speaker at Operation Black Vote Canada’s Black Women’s Political Summit in Toronto. The free event is sold out.

“As we go into the municipal election in October and the federal election in 2019, we feel that it is important that we mobilize to create change that will benefit us, our communities and support those in our community who have put their names forward to run,” says the organizers.

The summit will focus on different types of political engagement and building coalitions and mobilizing for municipal and federal elections.

The event is for Black women who are interested in finding out how they can use their economic and political resources to make a difference in their community.

Aboard the 5th annual Underground Railroad Freedom Train Ride on July 31, 2017.

At the unveiling of benches in Ontario Square, Harboufront Centre for 12 Black Canadians who were honoured for their contributions to African Canadian history in various fields. It happened on Nov. 10, 2014.