By Neil Armstrong
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| Photo contributed Photojournalist Eddie Grant |
Egerton “Eddie” Grant is beaming with excitement when he calls to tell me that he was pleasantly surprised to receive birthday greetings from Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The veteran photojournalist celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday, May 5, 2023 — the actual day of his birth was a Friday in 1933 — and was feted over two days. On May 4, the Consulate General of Jamaica, where Grant is the resident photographer for passport photos, and the Jamaica Tourist Board held a surprise birthday celebration for the nonagenarian at their Eglinton Avenue East offices. The next day, some friends of the amiable community pillar held another birthday event at Xaymaca, a Jamaican restaurant in Brampton, Ontario.
There were many birthday wishes, some expressions of surprise at his age (they thought he was younger), suggestions that an exhibition of his trove of photographs be mounted, and all around a great feeling that he deserved all the warm sentiments coming his way.
Grant fell ill the day after his birthday and was hospitalized for more than a week so he did not see the birthday greetings from the governor general and prime minister until he was at home recuperating and eventually stopped by the consulate. He is already feeling much better and is back at work.
Simon congratulated Grant on his 90th birthday and noted that during his lifetime, “the country has undergone some amazing shifts: a transition from one century to the next, evolution of technology, society, community. Times of great challenges and of great joy. No matter what role you played in the last ninety years, you have been an essential part of our country and we are grateful for all your contributions.”
The governor general also said Grant’s experience was valuable and respected, “and we can all learn from the wisdom you have to share. In the language of Inuktitut from the South Qikiqtaaluk, nalliuniqsiutsiarit! In English, happy birthday!
“It is a great pleasure to send you best wishes and warmest congratulations on the occasion of your ninetieth birthday,” says Trudeau on a certificate bearing his signature and the seal of his office.
When Grant was discharged from the hospital, he wrote a thank you message to everyone who celebrated his milestone and posted it to his Facebook page.
“I have always felt that members of my community love me and appreciate the selfless support I have given to many individuals for more than three decades. However, the recent birthday celebrations demonstrated that truth — all of that love came gushing down like the rushing water of Niagara Falls or Dunn’s River Falls. For that and more, thank you.
“I meant to write this several days ago, but as most of you already know I was hospitalized for almost two weeks. I was admitted to the Etobicoke General Hospital on May 6, two days after an illustrious surprise birthday celebration hosted by Lincoln Downer, Jamaica’s Consul General at Toronto, and his staff, in collaboration with Angella Bennett, Regional Director Canada, and staff of the Jamaica Tourist Board. I entered the hospital one day after my actual birthday (Friday, May 5) after another birthday celebration that was held in Brampton and hosted by freelance writer and editor Neil Armstrong and attended by some of my dear longtime friends.”
Grant said he appreciated that some of his friends and well-wishers travelled from as far as the Niagara Region, City of Hamilton, Flamborough, Oakville, Toronto, Mississauga, and from their homes in Brampton to attend.
“While I was in the hospital, I received more than 100 telephone calls from friends and relatives across North America. Unfortunately, I was unable to reply to them but I can do so now that I am at home recuperating. A thousand thank yous for all your fervent prayers, God’s richest blessings, and your good wishes while I am on the road to recovery,” wrote Grant during the Victoria Day long weekend.
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| Photo contributed Eddie Grant's siblings from left to right: Hyacinth, Joyce, Edith, Noel, Joseph and Winston |
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| Photo contributed Eddie Grant's sister, Gloria, and brother, Joseph |
Grant was born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, and was the second of eight children: Gloria (now deceased), Hyacinth, Joyce, Edith, Noel (now deceased), Joseph and Winston. He migrated to Canada in 1977 after living in England for twenty years. It was in London that he first studied photography at Clapham and Balham Institute and he subsequently pursued journalism studies at Seneca College in Toronto.
The veteran photojournalist has chronicled the lives of Caribbean people, particularly Jamaicans, in Canada. The reach of his work goes beyond Canada as Grant was the correspondent for the domestic and overseas editions of The Gleaner before the paper set up an office in Toronto. For many years, he was a freelance writer and journalist with the newspaper, which he served for almost fifty years until 2018.
Grant has also contributed to publications in the United States and the Caribbean as the Caribbean correspondent for Caribbean Lifestyle and Reggae Roots International based in Miami, Florida.
His photographs and stories have appeared in publications such as the Islander, Contrast, Dawn (all now defunct) and Share. To mark Jamaica’s 2st anniversary of independence in 1983, Grant single-handedly put together a souvenir magazine called Jamaica 21.
For many years, he operated a thriving photography business which included his still shots of events such as weddings, fashion shows and entertainers, home portraits and public relations assignments for a long list of clients, including the Jamaican government, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Air Jamaica, and Sandals Resorts Caribbean 5-Star All-inclusive hotels which saw him travelling to the various locations to do his photography.
Over the years, Grant has received many awards for his work; in 1983, the Jamaican Canadian Association honoured him for his “dedication and outstanding service.” Two years later, he received a Canadian Reggae Music Award for his coverage of the entertainment industry, and the following year he was awarded by the Bob Marley Celebration Committee for his work in the community.
In 1992, the photojournalist was presented with a plaque for his 25 years of “dedicated service” to the Gleaner Company. The Pearl of St. Jago Lodge No. 12 presented him an award for his display of excellent qualities within the community. In 1995, he was presented with a plaque at a dinner hosted in his honour at a local club, which was organized by Merritone DJ Winston Blake, now deceased, and a Toronto committee.
Some of Grant’s photographs were included in a groundbreaking photography exhibition in 2020 featuring 41 important works by renowned Black Canadian photojournalists. “Ears, Eyes, Voice: Black Canadian Photojournalists 1970s-1990s” was presented by TO Live and Black Artists’ Network in Dialogue (BAND) at Meridian Arts Centre in Toronto. The exhibition was presented three years earlier at BAND’s Art Gallery.
Grant published a second book of his photographs featuring scenes from Jamaica in the 2000s.
The unassuming and beloved photographer was one of 250 Jamaicans “who have made extraordinary contributions to this, their adopted land” featured in the coffee table book, Jamaicans in Canada: When Ackee Meets Codfish” published in 2012 to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence.
Grant’s daughter, Katrina Grant, who is a nurse, lives in South Florida, with his two grandsons Solomon and Thaddeus.
Sharing some photos from Eddie Grant's 90th birthday celebration at Xaymaca Restaurant in Brampton, Ontario on May 5, 2023.
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