The regular Club meeting was dedicated to the annual celebration of Black History Month. The meeting was attended by 34 Rotarians, Mayor Brown, a number of Brampton Councillors, a Deputy Chief of the Peel Regional Police and numerous other guests.
District Governor Leslie Barmania addressed the meeting on the topic of diversity in Rotary. She stressed that diversity is a core value of Rotary. Diversity is strength, adaptability and innovation and that Rotary must be prepared for disruptive innovation in order to have it grow. Rotary is to become more open with an inclusive and diverse in membership. Equity and inclusion are now predominant and current policies of the Directors of Rotary International. A current goal of Rotary is to achieve by 2023 a 30% female membership.
School Trustee (Wards 3 & 4) Kathy McDonald was introduced by Gail. Trustee Kathy first raised the questions: Is Black History fake? Is it misinformation? Is the current Black History an interruption of the much larger Black History of Africa? She then reminded that Africa is rich in history that goes back thousands of years. Black History Month became a community initiative in 1976. In 1995 the House of Commons declared February as the Black History Month. Trustee Kathy reminded that it was as recent as 1944 that Ontario passed its first laws to end discrimination based on race or color. She then reviewed a number of current and ongoing situations of social discrimination and image within the community at large.
In concluding she urged all to celebrate and participate in Black History festivities and events that honor the legacy of Black Canadians past and present and continue the work of dismantling racism.