Tributes to educator Karen Brathwaite and labour activist Carol Wall
By Lincoln DePradine

Canada has lost two stalwart women, whose contributions to society have been widely acclaimed. Keren Brathwaite was a well-known educator and scholar and Carol Wall was an outstanding labour and social justice activist.
Brathwaite’s pioneering efforts, which led to the establishment of the Transitional Year Program (TYP) at the University of Toronto, have enabled thousands of students to obtain a tertiary education.
TYP is designed to help adults, from underrepresented communities who lack the qualifications necessary to enroll in university, to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to be admitted.
In 1967, when Keren Brathwaite moved to Toronto from Antigua on a scholarship, she noticed there was a lack of black students at University of Toronto (U of T). That’s when she and others decided to address the problem. In the summer of 1969, TYP was launched and Brathwaite has served as associate director of the Transitional Year Program at the University of Toronto.
TYP now runs as a fulltime, eight-month program, with a permanent home at U of T’s St George campus.
“We continue to need this program to help working class students, Black students, who have been streamed out of school, and Aboriginal students who need their space in university,’’ Brathwaite, who died last week, once said.
Brathwaite, a graduate of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, wrote and reviewed academic texts, including co-authoring “The Education of African

Canadians: Issues, Contexts and Expectations’’, with Professor Dr Carl James. The two, in their writing, contend that inherent racism in the Canadian education system was most evident through discriminatory teachers, counselors, administrators, and in curriculum and school practices.
These forms of systematic racism, said Brathwaite and James, led many youth of African descent to feel isolated within the school system. They also revealed that despite these racist restrictions, Black students were still motivated to succeed.
Brathwaite also actively involved herself in the Black and Caribbean community, advocating for societal changes with groups such as the Black Secretariat and the Organization of Parents of Black Children.
“We are sad to share that our beloved mother, Keren Brathwaite, has passed away. We are thankful for our beautiful mother who has meant so much to our family, to her loved ones, and to her community. We will miss her greatly, but are proud of her life and her legacy,’’ performing artiste Wendy “Motion’’ Brathwaite said in a social post on the loss of her mom.
“We are comforted to know that she is now with the Creator, and is amongst the ancestors. As our father has also recently passed, we truly appreciate all of the support and prayers during this time. Details for our mom’s celebration of life service will be shared soon.’’
Carol Wall’s passing, a few weeks ago, was commented on in the federal parliament in Ottawa by Hamilton Centre MP, Matthew Green.
“It is only appropriate that I rise in the House of Commons to pay tribute to Carol Wall, a formidable force from the house of labour. Carol was a lifelong labour leader and social justice activist,’’ Green said. “Carol Wall’s legacy as a mentor to entire generations of labour leaders will continue to live on in the heart and soul of the movement.’’
Wall, born and raised in Toronto and the mother of adult children, worked 17 years for the Toronto Star and became a union leader in the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild (SONG).
In 1995, she became a representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. Five years later, the union hired her as its first director of human rights.
Wall, a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, served in numerous other roles including vice president of the Canadian Labour Congress; national negotiator for the Public Service Alliance of Canada; member of the women’s committee of the Ontario Federation of Labour.
She also was a member of several boards including the Pay Equity Advocacy and Legal Services Clinic; York University’s Centre for Research on Work and Society; the Chiropractic College of Ontario; and was regional director for the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, Ontario Region.
Wall was a co-author of the book, “Education for Changing Unions’’. It was published in 2002 and won “Best Book Related to the Field of Labor Education” from the United Association for Labor Education based in Chicago, Illinois.
Wall’s work “can be seen in the multiple structural changes that labour unions have undertaken to address systemic racism within its ranks’’, said university instructor Chris Ramsaroop, who also is an organizer with the activist group, Justice for Migrant Workers.
“Our history books celebrate the contributions of women leaders such as Viola Davis, Claudia Jones, Shirley Chisholm and Rosemary Brown, activists who fought the establishment and who have inspired generations to continue the struggle,’’ Ramsaroop said. “It is my hope that Carol Wall receives similar recognition for her tireless efforts. Thank you for your strength, love and solidarity.’’