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October Black Canadian Calendar

  • Known for: Creator of Black Girls Magazine 
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 1, 1971; founder and editor of Black Girls Magazine, date of first publication was Jun. 2016. 
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  • ​Known for: Professional basketball player; classical pianist; broadcaster; journalist; executive TV producer
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 3, 1956; member of the Canadian Olympic team in 1984; niece of Oscar Peterson.
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  • Known for: Cobbler; gold speculator; freelance journalist; politician; Indian Agent
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 18, 1850; date of death: Oct. 5, 1934; arrived in Kamloops in 1872. He was the Kamloops Indian Agent from 1912-1923. 
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  • ​Known for: Professional track and field athlete; WWI soldier; railway porter
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 6, 1888; date of death: Jan. 10, 1937; Canada's first Black Olympian in 1912.
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  • ​Known for: Event
  • Notable facts: On Oct. 7, 2017, the gala's theme was “The Protection of Civil Liberties: Before There is No One Left to Speak.” CABL was formed in Mar. 1996; it is a national network of Black Canadian law professionals and individuals committed to reinvesting in the community.
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  • ​Known for: Track and field athlete; railway porter
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 8, 1948; member of the Canadian Olympic team in 1932; won silver in 1934 British Empire Games; Ray Lewis Elementary School in Hamilton, Ontario is named after him. 
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  • ​Known for: Writer; editor; teacher
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 9, 1823; date of death: 1893; first Black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America​.
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For hands on educator resources, go to shopETFO.

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  • ​Known for: Composer; conductor; pianist
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 11, 1882; date of death: Oct. 2, 1943; his compositions continue to be performed, most notably by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, a professional chamber choir devoted to performing Afro-centric music.
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For hands on educator resources, go to shopETFO.

Download the 365 Black Canadian Curriculum
  • ​Known for: Founder
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 13, 1916; founder of the North American Black Historical Museum and Cultural Centre in Amherstburg, Ontario. 
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  • ​Known for: Musician; student
  • Notable facts: On Oct. 14, 2016, she performed at the Kailash Mital Theatre; wrote and composed an original theme song for The Gayle King Show on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011.
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  • ​Known for: President of Brandon University
  • Notable facts: On Oct. 17, 2014, Gervan Fearon was sworn in as president of Brandon University; recipient of African Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in Education in 2013​.
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  • ​Known for: Lawyer
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 18, 1929; the first Black female lawyer in Canada; called to the bar in Alberta in 1964. 
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  • ​Known for: Human rights activist; social worker; author; ​senator
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Sept. 4, 1925; date of death: Oct. 19, 2004; Ruck worked in various jobs including a sleeping car porter, a social worker and a human rights officer. He wrote a book documenting the history of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the all-Black segregated unit of the Canadian military in the First World War. Ruck was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1998. He was named to the Order of Canada in in 1994.
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  • ​Known for: Professional rugby player
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 20, 1996; member of the Canadian Olympic team, summer 2016. 
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  • ​Known for: Play
  • Notable facts: Oct. 21, 2003 was the opening night of the play, The Adventures of Black Girl in Search of God, at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. It was directed by playwright Djanet Sears. The play is set in the historic Negro Creek Road Black settlement in Holland Township, settled by Black War of 1812 veterans where the town council has changed the name. This production received six Dora Award nominations. The book of the play was shortlisted for a 2004 Trillium Book Award.
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  • ​Known for: Event
  • Notable facts: On Oct. 21-22, 2016, there was an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and its chaplain Rev. William A. White. Descendants and members of the battalion brought letters, medals and other historical items pertaining to the their ancestors' WWI service to be scanned and/or photographed at the on-site pop-up museum, to add to a new digital archive to be shared between the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre and Acadia University.
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  • ​Known for: Actor
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 23, 1990; TVO Kids host on The Space (2011-2015); had a role in the show Degrassi. 
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  • ​Known for: Rapper; singer; songwriter; record producer; actor
  • Notable facts: Date of birth:​ Oct. 24, 1986; four songs certified platinum; Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2013; received two MTV Video Music Awards. 
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  • ​Known for: Politician; Member of Parliament (MP)
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Sept. 9, 1937; first Black female MP in Parliament (first elected on Oct. 25, 1993), born in St. Georges, Grenada.
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For hands on educator resources, go to shopETFO.

Download the 365 Black Canadian Curriculum
  • ​Known for: City planner; Caribana co-founder
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 27, 1936; date of death: Oct. 4, 2015; Peter worked as a city planner with the City of Toronto for 30 years. In 1967, Peter became one of the founders of the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) that organized the first Caribana parade.
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  • Reference 1​Reference 2
For hands on educator resources, go to shopETFO.

Download the 365 Black Canadian Curriculum
For hands on educator resources, go to shopETFO.

Download the 365 Black Canadian Curriculum
  • ​Known for: Artist manager; restaurateur
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 30, 1935; date of death: Aug. 31, 2016; Howard managed his wife, acclaimed singer Salome Bey. In the 1950s, Matthews co-founded The First Floor Club and became the co-owner of The Underground Railroad Restaurant. Matthews was one of the co-founders of CAN: BAIA (Canadian Artists Network: Black Artists in Action). 
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  • ​Known for: Music video director
  • Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 31, 1975; winner of several BET, Juno, and MuchMusic Awards; Prism Prize Special Achievement Awardee.
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