By Neil Armstrong
Photo contributed Inez Johnson, recipient of the Jamaica Diaspora Impact Award, Education and Community Development
Inez Johnson, Rose Spencer Gibbs, Marcia Brown, Kevin A. Ormsby, and Peter David Smith are beaming with pride as they reflect on their selection as the five Jamaican-Canadian honourees of the inaugural Jamaica Diaspora Impact Awards (JDIA), an initiative of the Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto.
When Johnson became a teacher in Jamaica in 1963, she learned to care for others and just like her role model, her grade one teacher, Mrs. Lobban, she wanted her students to achieve the best that they could.
The retired principal in the Toronto District School Board immigrated to Canada in 1971 and was employed at the then Toronto Board of Education. After 34 years of working in the TDSB, she retired in 2005, but wherever she sees a need she strategizes to fill it.
“I was in Ghana for four months and when I came back and had access to the Board’s email, I saw this email and I read it. Tears came down my eyes, tears came down and I’m not someone who cries easily. I was so touched,” says Johnson, noting that she has been working in the community with students, parents and fellow teachers from the 1970s.
Growing up in Hanover, Jamaica, it was Mrs. Lobban who made learning a joy and encouraged her students to perform to the best of their abilities.
“I remember we would sit around her and she would be teaching us to read, and she would do poetry with us always. Through that, I developed a love for poetry and I vowed from those early days that I wanted to be just like her and so I became a teacher.”
Despite her father’s wish for her to become a medical doctor, Johnson pursued her calling and attended Mico Teachers College in Kingston, Jamaica.
Her community involvement was modelled by one of her uncles, a parish councillor, whom she assisted in delivering gift baskets to disadvantaged members of their community at Christmas time.
Johnson headed the Science Department at St Mary High School in Highgate, Jamaica, where she taught Biology, General Science and English before migrating to Canada.
During her years with the Toronto Board of Education, she learned to adjust to the Canadian education system and was later able to assist others in doing the same.
“I couldn’t do any of this without the help of others and I’m grateful for that,” she says, noting that in the 1970s when there was an influx of Jamaicans migrants coming into Canada with their children, they had no idea of what the school system entailed.
Johnson said the children were confused and doing poorly in school, “some of them became behavioural issues and I had to do something about it.”
With the help of some organizations in which she was involved, she developed the Saturday Morning Tutorial Program which lasted for 25 years.
“When we saw the change that we were bringing about in the lives of these kids and getting them all settled in school and performing and succeeding, we knew we had to continue and that’s why it went on for all these years.”
As an alumna of Mico University College, she worked with the Mico Alumni Association and organizations such as Rusea's Past Student Association, Canadian Alliance of Black Educators (CABE), Organization of Parents of Black Children, Black Secretariat, and Black Action Defense Committee, to help her establish the program.
“When we needed space, the Organization of Parents of Black Children were the ones who approached the Board on our behalf to ask for space because at that time we had to pay to use Board facilities. We didn’t have funds; we were doing this just of our own free will and they got us space.”
The Board supported the program, said Johnson, because in a sense the tutorial was helping the Board which had students from Jamaica and did not know what to do with them.
Johnson referenced a 6-year-old boy who was deemed behavioural and always pushed out into the hallways instead of being in the classroom. His grandmother heard about the tutorial program and brought him one Saturday.
She worked with him and his teacher so that the boy could cope when back in school. “That little boy did so well, he improved and it carried over into his classroom. And these are the things that cause us to go on and on.”
She also provided workshops for the parents who learned to navigate the school system to help their children.
When she retired in 2005, she saw the need to help young teachers — many of whom were coming from Jamaica, England, the United States, African countries, in addition to locally-trained Canadian teachers — who were experiencing difficulties securing jobs.
Johnson approached a few of her retired colleagues and suggested that they form a group to mentor the teachers.
“From 2007 we started mentoring, and we’re doing it right now. We take them to sessions, we go through their resumes, cover letters, we prep them for interviews, and sometimes we connect them with Board personnel, get them interviews, and get them the jobs.
“Right now, we have mentees who are superintendents, principals, vice principals, and consultants; they’re doing very well. They have done well and the focus of the mentoring group changes according to the needs of the mentees,” says Johnson proudly.
She said once they get the jobs, there are other issues that they have to deal with and when those issues come up, they are back with the group of retired educators who offer them advice.
Johnson is currently working with staff at the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement where she is sharing her knowledge and skills with them.
“I’ve had wonderful years as a teacher, great successes, loved my students and they performed well over the years.
“You give without expecting a reward, you give unselfishly, and when I get rewarded like this by the consulate, it warms my heart because this is coming from my own people who recognized what I’ve been doing over the years,” says Johnson, noting that none of her other awards has touched her like this one.
She is the honouree in the category of education and community development.
Photo contributed. Rose Spencer Gibbs, recipient of the Jamaica Diaspora Impact Award, Education and Community Service
Spencer Gibbs, a retired Department Head of Library, formerly with the York Region District School Board, has a wide range of experiences in education and community work in Jamaica, Guyana and Canada.
She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Her first teaching job was at Montego Bay High School. Subsequently, she engaged in post-graduate work at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and at Harvard University in the United States. She completed her doctorate in education at McGill University in Montreal.
“I’m very appreciative, very grateful for the recognition. Most of what I do I really don’t do for the recognition; I do appreciate that some people thought it was worthy of being celebrated, said the author of the memoir, Island of Plantations: A Jamaican Reflection, who will receive the award for education and community service.
She spent several years as an Education Officer with the Ministry of Education in Jamaica supervising rural primary schools in South Manchester. She was a school librarian and lecturer in Montreal. She has worked as the librarian and lecturer at Mico University College in Jamaica.
While a teacher librarian at Markham District High School in York Region, Spencer Gibbs established a student performance group, the Markham Memory Keepers. For the performances, she wrote a script, entitled “Freedom Road,” using poetry, speeches, songs and music from the culture of people of African heritage.
She contributes to her community in her position on the board of the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators and as coordinator for the ONABSE/York University community experience for students in the Bachelor of Educational Studies programme.
Spencer Gibbs is also Chair of the scholarship committee for Arts and Culture Jamaica. She has served on the executive of the Alliance of Educators for Black Students and continues to volunteer with the organization.
She is a recipient of Black History Month awards for community service from the City of Markham, Ontario. She is currently an independent researcher and writer and lives in Markham.
The retired educator is also the co-author of the book, Louis Strathmore Grant: From Mitchell Town to Mona Campus Jamaica.
Photo contributed Marcia Brown, recipient of the Jamaica Diaspora Impact Award, Culture and Community Service
Brown, a leading cultural ambassador in Canada, uses her platform in the arts to celebrate and preserve Jamaican and Caribbean heritage.
When she moved to Canada in 1989, she realized there were limited opportunities for her to pursue her greatest passion—theatre—which she began pursuing in 1982 when she auditioned for the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) National Pantomime.
Since 2000, Brown has worked tirelessly to create spaces to bring Jamaican stories to life by producing culturally diverse, thought-provoking, impactful and memorable plays presented by her production company, Marcia Brown Productions.
“To think that I came out on top in an inaugural award feels so good, it makes me feel so extra special,” says Brown who is grateful to her nominator and supporters. She noted that this is her first major award in Canada and she enjoys giving back to community. She is the recipient in the category of culture and community service.
As an advocate for cultural preservation, her artistic contributions to promote the uniqueness of Jamaican heritage have been a driving force in ensuring that the rich Jamaican traditions are passed down to younger generations. Her commitment to this legacy is evident in her 2012 and 2013 youth-led production, “Pickney Sinting,” where all proceeds were reinvested in the community.
Brown also plays an integral role in supporting education through her ongoing financial scholarship donations to the Jamaican Canadian Association Scholarship Program, thus empowering students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue higher education.
Her influence extends beyond the Greater Toronto Area and Canada as her plays have been produced in other provinces and the United States.
Brown has received several community awards in recognition of her work and was featured in the commemorative coffee table book, Jamaicans in Canada: When Ackee Meets Codfish, published in 2012 to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence. She has used theatre and philanthropy to shape the future of the Jamaican-Canadian community.
Photo contributed. Peter David Smith, recipient of the Jamaica Diaspora Impact Award, Culture, Health and Wellbeing
Peter David Smith’s life is immersed in the arts — theatre, dance, and fitness. He has earned a black belt and a brown belt (aikido) in martial arts.
Smith has toured Europe and performed in London at the Battersea Arts Centre, the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, and at the Stage Door Festival in Holland.
“This is the biggest thing that has ever happened in my life to be recognized by my own Jamaican people. It makes me feel like I’m on top of Jamaica, that what I’ve been doing all this time was being seen by somebody who decided to nominate me,” said Smith who will be awarded in the culture, health and wellbeing category.
This is the first time that the health and fitness expert is receiving an award in Canada.
As a member of the L.T.D. Dance Group, he toured Jamaica and the United States, and has performed at “Ring Ding” the popular television show of Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately known as Miss Lou; Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation's "Where It’s At” with Alphanso Walker; and has opened for the Jamaica reggae band, Chalice.
Smith has earned two gold medals from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
He created Reggaecise, a high-impact aerobic workout experience of dance and movement to the rhythm of Reggae music, in 1992. Smith is proud that it is being taught at GoodLife Fitness, the largest health club company in Canada.
He has served as a maroon chief and has also been associated with chiefs of indigenous groups. Smith was the president and associate of groups in Canada.
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| Photo contributed. Kevin Ormsby, recipient of the Jamaica Diaspora Impact Award, Arts and Culture Leadership |
Ormsby, artistic director of KasheDance, has performed in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean, featured in works by choreographers such as Garth Fagan, Patrick Parson, Ronald Taylor, Ron K. Brown, Menaka Thakkar, Lzi Lerman, Bageshree Vaze, Lemi Ponifasio, Christopher Walker, and Denise Fujiwara.
His formative arts experience in Jamaica included performances on “Ring Ding” and “Kidstuff” with Brian Heap, Pierre, and Karlene Lamaire. He began his formal arts training at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and Calabar High School.
“It means an honouring of community, a recognition of the work put into community, and it means that I’m on my life’s path which is to make sure that I’m Jamaican and representing the many aspects of Jamaica within every space that I exist in,” says Ormsby who is being recognized for arts and culture leadership.
He is inspired daily by what he describes as “the cultural investment from so many people, both in Jamaica and in the diaspora, into who I’ve become as an artist, choreographer and advocate.”
Currently, Ormsby animates Kollective Narratives, focusing on culturally responsive art, space, placemaking, and communities. As co-director and curator of programming and engagement at Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), he delivers equity, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI) programming and training for clients such as the National Ballet of Canada, Canada's National Ballet School, and Luminato Festival. He also advocates for arts funding at all government levels in Canada.
In education, he has been a faculty member of Centennial College's Dance Performance Program and a guest artist at institutions including the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts - University of the West Indies (Mona), University of Wisconsin - Madison, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas - Austin. His research and creative practice explore Caribbean and African Diasporic cultural practices, aiming to develop a methodology of investigation in research, creation, and presentation.
Ormsby has been recipient of the Theatre Centre's Patrick Connor Award (2023), nominated for the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize (2023), and was a finalist in 2021, Canada Council for the Arts' Victor Martyn Lynch - Staunton Award, a Chalmers Fellowship, and Toronto Arts Council Cultural Leaders Fellow.
He serves on the Board of Dance Collection Danse and has previously been involved on the boards of Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Canadian Dance Assembly, Prologue to the Performing Arts, and Nia Centre for the Arts.
An independent panel of judges selected the five honourees from over 40 nominations submitted by the public.
“The inaugural Jamaica Diaspora Impact Awards is a milestone occasion and an
opportunity to celebrate inspiring leaders who have made an indelible impact on the
wellbeing of the Jamaican-Canadian community,” said Consul-General Kurt Davis, noting that, “This event is about honouring legacy, inspiring the next generation, and showcasing
the strength and vibrancy of our diaspora.”
The JDIA gala will be held at the Toronto Botanical Garden on October 24, and feature a gourmet dining experience curated by the multi-award-winning Chef Noel Cunningham, live entertainment, and cultural performances.
Established to honour the extraordinary achievements of Jamaican-Canadians who exemplify leadership, innovation, and service in their fields, the JDIA is presented by the Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto. The gala embodies excellence and cultural pride while celebrating Jamaica’s heritage and the remarkable contributions of its diaspora community in Canada.
