Celebrating Pride In Person Means a Lot to These Torontonians

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed      Keysha Miller, Coordinator of the Trans and Non-Binary Youth Service Plan, Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP)

 

The city is abuzz with excitement for Pride Toronto 2022 and some of its residents who will be attending the three-day Pride Festival Weekend, June 24-26, for the first time say they are expecting something big and hopefully will not be overwhelmed.

 

The 41^st celebration of the Pride Parade on the last Sunday of June will include over 200 contingents and more than 200,000 marchers. Organizers say the parade is about celebrating diversity and creating an inclusive experience for all. They are taking a more sustainable approach to it with the goal of eventually hosting a zero-waste festival in the future.

 

The Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP), Canada’s largest Black specific AIDS service organization, is the Pride 2022 Charity of Choice and its volunteers and staff are ready for the busy weekend.

 

“I really am just open to the experience, like everything — the people, the music, the culture — gay culture, it’s not something that you are exposed to in Jamaica and so it’s something new and exciting,” says Nicholas who is a newcomer to Toronto and volunteers at the non-profit, community-based organization. He is looking forward to the total experience.

 

He says Pride is significant because as a gay man he gets to see his community, firsthand, celebrates what it means to be proud of who you are. “To be a part of that, I think, is something tremendous. I can’t wait to bask in what Pride is, bask in the whole significance of what Pride means and to celebrate who you are.”

 

Nicholas says Black CAP is unique to individuals who are racialized, specifically Black, Caribbean, and African members of the LGBTQ+ community. “As a gay Black man, I think it was important for me to give my time, effort and energy into building a community that I personally identify with.”

 

He says when he thinks about the origin and history of Pride, the festival today is honouring those who were oppressed and continue to be oppressed, chased, and killed just for being who they are — gay. 

 

“I think it is tremendously important for us to be able to walk freely and proudly and say this is who I am, this is who we are, and we’re here to stay and we’re going to be who we want to be.”

Having spent the last two years under lockdown because of the pandemic, Charlton Jones is looking forward to socialize at Pride.

 

As someone from the Caribbean, Jones says he has listened to a lot of dancehall music and is therefore anticipating the performance of the ‘Queen of Dancehall’ Grace Hamilton, aka Spice, who has been in the music business for 20 years and will be the headliner at the opening ceremony for the Pride Festival Weekend on June 24 at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Photo courtesy of Pride Toronto    Spice, Queen of Dancehall

As the Charity of Choice, Black CAP will be at the forefront of the Pride Parade and Jones is happy that this creates an opportunity for the agency to raise funds and for him to help in any way possible.

 

He wants to connect with fellow LGBTQ people at Pride and says the event is symbolic of sending a message to those who are outside of the community to end the discrimination many queer people experience.

 

“We are persons too, just like anybody else who are outside of the community. We have feelings, we have a voice, we have a say; we have a place, so this event is symbolic of all of that. A great platform, a powerful tool to echo to the rest of the world our place, our continued emerging space.”

 

Keysha Miller, coordinator of the trans and non-binary youth service plan — a peer-led initiative engaging trans and non-binary youth around service and employment — says she is looking for a sense of community and place where she can be herself and let her hair down at Pride.

 

“I’ve never actually been to a Pride event before so, for me, I guess it’s a liberating experience,” she says, noting that she can live comfortably and “be happy in the skin I was given.”

 

Miller says she is living in her truth and therefore anything she does, such as working at Black CAP, walking a ball [Ballroom culture], or attending Pride is in celebration of herself and her courage.

 

“It gives you a sense of belonging, it also gives you a sense of you know what, I can be confident. There are people like me; I can turn to them for support. It’s also necessary because there are resources at events like Pride.

 

Black CAP will have a booth where people can get information on harm reduction, HIV, and employment. “It’s almost like a celebration of being you, a social event,” says Miller.

 

She says Pride is necessary because in society people who are deemed different — being trans, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and are Black or Latinx — their intersectionality separates them from the rest of the world that is predominantly white, cisgender, heterosexual, and corporate.

Photo contributed      Garfield Durrant, Men's Prevention Specialist at the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP)

 

For Garfield Durrant, men’s prevention specialist at Black CAP, this is not his first Pride but he has not attended the annual event in a while. Although he is looking forward to the festivities, he prefers being centred on the conversations that will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people and the support they need.

 

“It’s an opportunity for us, really, to be more focused to get a deeper understanding in the community of what we need to do, especially from a service provider lens,” says Durrant, who will be attending as a patron but also as a service provider.

 

He intends to look at behaviours and have conversations with people to assess how they are doing, what kind of supports they need, and how their lives have been affected by the pandemic.

 

He says the issues that Black Lives Matter brought to the fore are still a concern, and there are matters related to racialized, Black trans people who engage in sex work and their housing, employment, food security, mental health and substance use challenges.

 

“Sexual health is really our primary goal but we find that since the two years of the pandemic and going forward, mental health is something that we have been dealing with at the forefront. 

 

Durrant is thankful for the funds that will come from Pride 2022 for Black CAP to use for its programming for the trans community and settlement for newcomers. The agency hopes to increase awareness of its work in the wider society too.

 

Black CAP will also be present at the annual Blockorama — Pride Toronto’s largest and longest-running stage — that has been a space celebrating Black love, joy, music, and community for over 20 years.  It spotlights Toronto’s local Black performers, artists, DJs, drag artists and ballroom at the Wellesley Stage, across from Wellesley subway, on June 26. 

 

The headliner will be soca star Patrice Roberts and for the first time, this year there is an additional event — four hours of “Blocko After Dark” on Saturday night, June 25.

Photo courtesy of Pride Toronto              Soca star Patrice Roberts

 

The Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention is seeking volunteers to march with it at the upcoming Pride Parade on June 26. Visit blackcap.ca for more information. 

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Some Scenic Places to Visit While in Jamaica to Celebrate Independence

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong     The view from an elevated gazebo at UCC Blue Mountain Coffee Craighton Estate in Irish Town, St. Andrew

 

Imagine being in Jamaica and visiting a verdant plantation and garden where the hummingbirds are called by their names and swoop in once summoned, or being within the reach of fruits such as coconut, tamarind, guava, jackfruit, breadfruit, bananas, mammee, pineapple, and more.

 

What if you could go clubbing at a nightclub on a Sunday where the dub vibes are so pulsating that you and others are moving in sync to the drum beat of the reggae music and viewing the glorious skyline of Kingston.

 

Add standing over 3,000 ft. above Kingston and looking at the marvellous landscape of the Blue Mountains after sipping coffee from the region.

 

These are just a few of the things Jamaicans in the diaspora and friends of the island can do when they visit, especially this year to celebrate Jamaica’s 60^th anniversary of independence under the theme, “Re-igniting a Nation for Greatness.” 

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    Lorna Binns of Sun Valley Plantation in Cresent, Oracabessa in St. Mary

 

Sun Valley Plantation in Cresent, Oracabessa in St. Mary, 30 minutes east of Ocho Rios, is highly recommended by the Jamaica Tourist Board. Owned and operated by the Binns family — Lorna, Nolly and their son, Brian — the estate is steeped in history having produced a variety of tropical fruits for over 250 years. Historic dates and names of who brought the fruits to Jamaica easily roll off Lorna’s tongue as she gives visitors a tour. 

 

She shows off the fruits, trees and herbs while emphasizing the therapeutic and medicinal values of some. The jelly coconut water is cool and refreshing and eating the jelly tops off a wonderful gastronomic experience, especially when followed by breadfruit fried straight from the tree (so no roasting needed before frying), ackee and saltfish on crackers, fried green plantains, a serving of fruits: mango, naseberry, mammee, sugar cane, guava, and a freshly-made fruit juice.

 

Lorna demonstrates the use of a sugarcane press on the property and while walking around the working plantation she calls out some names. When asked why, she says they are the names of hummingbirds in the trees — Andrew, Peter, Edward and others — one swooped in to drink water from a container in a visitor’s hand. Jamaica’s national tree, the blue mahoe, is there, so too is the country’s national flower, the lignum vitae. The property also has a waterfall. 

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    From top to bottom: guava, cacao, a hummingbird drinking water, tamarind, fried plantains and breadfruit, ackee and sailfish on crackers, fried green plantains, breadfruit and ackee and saltfish at Sun Valley Plantation

 

Blue Lagoon and Monkey Islands Boat Tour in Portland

 

If swimming and being on water is your preference, then there is the Blue Lagoon, a natural favourite for swimmers as the mix of fresh and salt water offers an unusual bathing experience. “They say the lagoon is bottomless but in reality Blue Lagoon is an enchanting spot with deep blue water fed by a fresh water mineral spring. Made famous by a certain Brooke Shields movie and the site of a well-publicised Jacques Cousteau dive, the 52m-deep (170.6ft) 'Blue Hole' (as locals call it) opens to the sea through a narrow funnel, but is fed by freshwater springs that come in at about 40m (131ft) deep,” notes a brochure.

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong      Scenes from the Blue Lagoon and Monkey Islands boat tour

 

It is here that you can buy something from a vendor before you get on a boat or leave the area. Norman ‘Boxer’ Livingston, a popular boater, seems to be a fountain of knowledge of all the movies shot near the Blue Lagoon and all the Hollywood celebrities that have been guests at suites in the area. He mentions Tom Cruise, Rihanna, Beyoncé among them and notes that Rihanna gave him one of her suitcases. The former boxer has many stories to share about the nearby Monkey Islands too.

 

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay   Norman 'Boxer' Livingston

 

 

The view from the UCC Blue Mountain Coffee Craighton Estate in Irish Town, St. Andrew

 

Lovers of coffee are in for a treat when they visit the UCC Blue Mountain Craighton Coffee Estate. The estate surrounding Craighton Great House was constructed in 1805 by George Craighton and has been linked to many notable figures in Jamaican history, including two governors general. Craighton Estate is now owned by the Japanese Ueshima Coffee Company which directly manages it and exports most of the coffee beans to Japan. 

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay    Tour guide Jerome Thomas talking about the Blue Mountain Coffee

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay      Coffee beans presentation by Jerome Thomas

 

The tour by Jerome Thomas includes walking through coffee fields and learning how the plants grow and how the beans are reaped and processed. There is also a moment to sit and learn more about coffee while sipping on some of the world best and a slice of cake. Walking up further on the property will take a visitor to an elevated gazebo where they are over 3,000 ft. above Kingston and have a glorious panoramic view of the mountainscape. Thomas is adept at sharing the history of the property and product, including some punchlines too.

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong      Kingston's skyline from the Kingston Dub Club in the hills of St. Andrew

 

 

Kingston Dub Club

 

Located in the hills of St. Andrew on Skyline Drive, overlooking Kingston, Dub Club is the leading spot for conscious roots reggae music and entertainment in Kingston. It offers a great view of the cityscape and food and liquor are readily available. 

 

 

Independence Park

 

If you have never seen Jamaica’s great athletes such as Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Asafa Powell, Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint and others up close and personal, this is the next best — a celebration of them in sculptures by renowned sculptors Alvin Marriott and Basil Watson in Independence Park. How many of us knew that the area is known as Independence Park, has been around since 1966, and includes the National Stadium. A statute of Bob Marley is just across the road from it at Celebrity Park, which is at the corner of Arthur Wint Drive and Herb McKenley Drive.

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    Bob Marley statue in Celebrity Park, across from Independence Park

 

Bob Marley Museum 

 

The Bob Marley Museum is the former home of the reggae legend. Bob’s home is filled with rich memories and treasured mementos, which seek to preserve the life and accomplishment of this great Jamaican and outstanding musician.

 

Emancipation Park

 

“The morning breeze ushers in dawn's new light as joggers commence the day's ever-changing cycle. A rare jewel in the heart of Kingston city, Emancipation Park is a refuge for many who seek solitude and a soothing ambience away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. It's an oasis where one can rejuvenate among its lush seven-acre landscape that symbolizes the legendary beauty of the island of Jamaica. Nature lovers can bask in the Park's scenery lined with tropical flowers and trees such as the majestic Royal Palm, its branches stretching outwards beckoning to the skies. Art lovers can appreciate the beautifully crafted 11ft. bronze sculpture "Redemption Song" by celebrated Jamaican artist, Laura Facey that graces the ceremonial entrance of the Park. The opening of Emancipation Park in July 2002 is a significant milestone in the journey of our nation. The Park was created to be a symbol of our Freedom to Hope, to Excel and to Be,” notes ‘Welcome to Emancipation Park: A Tribute to Our Freedom’ at emancipationpark.org.jm 

 

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    Tour guide Barbara Beckford at Devon House

 

Devon House tour and I-Scream

 

Devon House I-Scream, makers of Jamaica’s premier brand of ice cream has its flagship store at the location. Devon House is home to over 27 flavours including their famous bordeaux cherry, rocky river, strong back, mango, coconut, coffee and soursop and their most popular flavour, the Devon Stout. The ice cream at Devon House was voted the 4th best ice cream in the world by the National Geographic on its traveller's list of top places to eat ice cream in the world.

 

One of Jamaica’s most celebrated historic landmarks, the Devon House Mansion is the architectural dream of Jamaica’s first Black millionaire George Stiebel. He was among three wealthy Jamaicans who constructed elaborate homes during the late 19^th century at the corner of Trafalgar Road and Hope Road which fittingly became known as the Millionaire’s Corner.  Daniel Finzi and the Verleys were the other families that resided in the area, however, both homes were eventually demolished to make way for development ventures, including the construction of Abbey Court Apartments. 

 

Stiebel’s legacy lives on with the beautifully maintained Devon House, which was declared a national monument in 1990 by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Tour guide Barbara Beckford meets visitors at the steps of the entrance and conducts a detailed history of the house and the property.

 

 

Harbour View Roundabout Street Food Experience 

 

The Harbour View Roundabout has been a location for street food vending for over 30 years. The site has become a popular spot which excites the taste buds of many Jamaicans offering a wide variety of popular Jamaican foods such as conch stew, jerk chicken, jerk pork, festival, bammy, oysters, fried chicken and roast breadfruit to name a few. Street food in Jamaica is very popular and has been an important part of Jamaica’s culture.

 

Kingston Creative Art Walk

 

The first staging of the Kingston Creative Art Walk took place on May 27, 2018. Organized by Kingston Creative, a local organisation committed to the development of an art district and a creative entrepreneur hub in Downtown Kingston, the walk happens on the last Sunday of each month starting at 11:00 a.m. The Kingston Creative Facebook group has updates.

 

Kingston Creative Art Walk is a free, guided group walk which includes several downtown Kingston locations showcasing the work of artists in painting, dance, music, fashion and more. Participants get a chance to meet storytellers, singers and dancers and “visit unexpected and hidden places downtown,” notes their website. They also get the chance to buy art and craft from the creative entrepreneurs there.

 

 

Some other places you can visit in Kingston

 

The National Heroes Park

The site was officially renamed the National Heroes Park in 1973 and is now a permanent place for honouring our heroes whose monuments are erected in an area known as the Shrine. 

Another section, reserved for prime ministers and outstanding patriots, adjoins the Shrine area, to the north, notes the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. This is where Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately known as “Miss Lou,’” and her husband, Eric “Chalktalk” Coverley; Ranny Williams, Dennis Brown, Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds, Toots Hibbert, Dennis Brown and some other distinguished Jamaicans are laid to rest.

 

Coronation Market

The largest and most vibrant market in Jamaica, Coronation Market, or 'Curry', accommodates between 6,000 to 8,000 persons per day. Peak days for business are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, notes a story in the Gleaner in May 2010. On a hot day while downtown Kingston, it is a welcoming place to buy a jelly coconut and enjoy the cool coconut water and eat the jelly.

 

Gloria’s Seafood Port Royal

 

The name Gloria's is synonymous with good food and great vibes with friends. Located in the historic town of Port Royal, the team at Gloria’s has perfected the art of making Jamaican seafood dishes simply delicious, notes visitjamaica.com

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    Images at the entrance of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston

 

 

 

 

Kamala-Jean Gopie Receives Global Service Award from Alma Mater

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong      Kamala-Jean Gopie sitting outside Roy Thomson Hall

 

Educator and philanthropist Kamala-Jean Gopie says an award from her alma mater, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, is very special for her.

 

She is the recipient of the 2022 Leaders and Legends Award in the category of Global Service based on her work in Malawi. 

 

“This award celebrates an extraordinary individual for their commitment to addressing the world’s social and humanitarian challenges with a noticeable global impact,” says committee chair Professor Kristin Snoddon who presented the award at the virtual OISE Alumni Association’s Biennial General Meeting (BGM) held today. Also in attendance were OISE dean Normand Labrie, OISE alumni association president Matt Stodolak and Sim Kapoor, director of advancement and external relations. 

 

In 2020, Gopie received the Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award at the Afroglobal Television Excellence Awards in recognition of her work in the African country.  

 

“Education has been the driving force for the work in Malawi, first for Happy, then for pre-schoolers and now for students to go to secondary school. For me, it is also proof that taking a chance on someone with a dream is worth doing, that it does not take huge amounts of money to make a difference/impact and that one is never too old to give back.” 

 

Gopie says the initial amount of money was US$10.00 to Chimwemwe Mussa, (whose first name in the Chichewa language means ‘Happy’), a young man from Malawi she met at a street market in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2016. She notes that she was over 70 years old at the time. 

 

Recalling their conversation, Gopie said, “I started to talk to him and just something about his manner. When I came back and I told people about it, I said all I can tell you is I just found him to be wholesome.”

 

He told her that he was from Malawi, his father was dead, he had six siblings and he was working to try to take care of his family. 

 

Happy told her that they were very poor and that he had gone to a high school run by an NGO but hadn’t done well in grade 12. He really wanted to be a teacher.

 

“And I think that was the clincher when he said to me I really want to be a teacher but I couldn’t,” says Gopie, a retired teacher.

 

It took a month before she was able to find a way to get some money to him in South Africa because he didn’t have a bank account.

 

She had sent $500 CAD so he could get back home because it is a 4-day bus trip from Cape Town back to Malawi.

 

She told him to check about going back to school and he found a couple of schools and finally decided on one where he could complete his grade 12 education.

 

Working through People Bridge Foundation, Gopie and donors she approached sent money to Happy for the construction of a school.

 

Initially they were thinking of registration for 30-40 kids, but their expectations were exceeded when 90 were registered.

 

 

Gopie paid the first $3,500 out of her pocket for the school and People Bridge sent $1,000 from donations from her friends for the school.

 

The association with People Bridge allows donors to receive tax receipts and the organization would become an agency.

 

Gopie said there are enough donations from her friends in People Bridge to support the school, in terms of just salary for a couple of years.

 

The People Bridge Charitable Foundation is dedicated to reducing poverty and promoting good healthcare in communities around the world while also being responsive to emergencies wherever they may be.

 

“That’s my legacy -- that if there’s a school in Malosa, which would not have been there other than that, then that’s my giving back,” says the ebullient philanthropist. 

 

That initial meeting also resulted in Happy becoming a certified teacher, the school being named after Gopie, different work initiatives for the local women and men, a water borehole being built, and other projects in the village.

 

Last October, Gopie took some tablets with her to Malawi for students and hopes to purchase some more to take when she goes in the fall. 

 

“With your help we are supporting 12 students (8 girls and 4 boys) to attend secondary school.  The funds from the sponsors cover school fees, registration and exam fees, and uniforms.  Funds from other supporters cover the cost of food and housing for the 8 girls who live in a house close to the school, bicycles for the 4 boys, and school supplies,” notes Gopie in an email she sent out after returning from Malawi.

 

“Because of your support, we are making a significant difference in the lives of these young people who are anxious to get an education. I thank you very much for your support as you join Happy and me to give a hand up by providing educational opportunity.”      

 

In April, Happy told her that he would be getting married to his love, Memory, at the end of the month.  It was a legal ceremony, however, the religious ceremony will be held in the village when Gopie visits in October.

 

The philanthropist says the Global Service Award is really special and significant to her.  “Nothing I ever anticipated as I went about my business doing what I found fulfilling in my life.”  

 

Gopie’s philanthropy stretches beyond Canada and Malawi. Earlier this year, she was also involved in a virtual fundraising event in for healthcare in St. Ann, Jamaica.

 

“During the pandemic, some of us thought of ways of helping vulnerable populations. The St. Ann Medical Outreach is the result of such thinking.  It is an initiative to give back to a place (Jamaica) which has a very special place in our hearts,” she said.

 

The graduate of Queen’s School in Jamaica worked for the Jamaica Library Service before leaving Jamaica in 1962 for New York where she attended business school for fifteen months before migrating to Canada in 1963.

 

She worked initially as an assistant librarian for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and subsequently attended the Toronto Teachers College that began her career in teaching which lasted more than 30 years. During these years she completed a BA and MEd at the University of Toronto, taught in elementary schools, was a teacher-librarian, a consultant for equity in the curriculum, a university lecturer and an education officer in the Anti-racism and Ethno-cultural Equity Branch of the Ministry of Education. 

 

Upon retiring from a life in education in 1998, she was appointed to the Immigration and Refugee Board where she served for eight years. Gopie was appointed a part-time commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 2006, a position in which she served for two years.

 

Her commitment to social justice and equity was evident in her involvement in several community organizations, including the Jamaican Canadian Association, Metropolitan Children’s Aid Society, Ontario Housing Corporation, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, Beatrice House and United Way of Canada where she was vice chair for two years.

 

Her love of the Arts has led to her volunteering or fundraising for institutions such as the Harbourfront Corporation, National Ballet of Canada, Roy Thomson and Massey Hall, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Toronto Arts Council and the Royal Ontario Museum. 

 

Known for her philanthropy, Gopie, who was invested with the Order of Ontario in 1996, supports many causes which seek to enrich and improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society.

 

School in Parkdale Renamed in Honour of Beloved Retired Librarian

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Francine Buchner         Rita Cox

Queen Victoria Public School in Parkdale, Toronto, has been renamed Dr. Rita Cox - Kina Minogok Public School.

In a letter to the community dated May 26, Dr. Debbie Donsky, superintendent of education, and Darlene Jones, principal of the school said the vote in favour of the renaming was made at the regular board meeting held on May 25. 

They said over the course of this school year they have been sharing information with the community about the process to rename the school.

“The School Naming Committee, in an act of solidarity, recommended merging the two names, Dr. Rita Cox Public School and Kina Minogok (All Things Grow Well Together). The name was chosen after months of consultation work with the Committee composed.” 

Cox says she feels honoured, much humbled, grateful and proud” of this action by the school board.

 

The suggestion to rename the school was brought forward to the board of trustees in May 2021 and the process was guided by TDSB policy and procedure (P047 and PR592). 

In December, the committee launched a call for submissions for potential new names to replace Queen Victoria PS. More than 150 names were submitted by the community for consideration and a shortlist was presented for feedback to the community during a town hall in February 2022. 

“We want to thank each one of you for your participation and interest in the renaming process, including those who came to the town hall to advocate for their choice of a new name. Your dedication to ensuring the new name reflects the values of the school and the broader community has been a learning experience for all involved. 

“We acknowledge that although the proposed name is worthy of celebration, we also recognize that major fundamental changes to curriculum and culture are required to bring about the desired outcomes. Our sustained growth depends on the continued engagement in the learning and listening that began this name change. We look forward to continuing this work with the school community,” said the school officials. 

Queen Victoria Public School, an inner-city school serving over 700 students coming from many different countries, was founded in Parkdale in 1887. A new school was built in 1999.  Many of the students are relatively new immigrants to Canada.

 

Dr. Cox joined the Toronto Public Library as a children’s librarian in 1960 and, in 1972, became the head of the Parkdale branch. In 1973, she pioneered the Black Heritage and West Indian Resource Collection at the branch. It was subsequently established at three other branches: York Woods, 1984; Cedarbrae, 1989; Maria A. Shchuka, 2003.

 

The Trinidad-born veteran librarian retired from the Toronto Public Library in 1995, having served as head of Parkdale for over 20 years. 

 

In 1998, the important resource was renamed the Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, and two years later renamed in honour of its founder — the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection. The Rita Cox Endowment Fund is established within the Toronto Public Library Foundation to support and enhance the growth of the Collection.

 

A park bearing her name — The Rita Cox Park — is on Machells Ave, just north of Lamport Stadium.