Loris Thomas, the regional representative of the Ontario chapter of the Congress of Black Women

50 Years of Support

By Stephanie Pollard

Two important factors in being successful are education and support. For more than 50 years, the Congress of Black Women of Canada has fiercely advocated for both, with its mandate to provide a forum for Black women to improve their lives and identify issues that affect them, their families and the entire community.

Former regional representative of Ontario Ettie Rutherford remembers how important support was when she immigrated to Alberta from Jamaica with her husband, who would eventually abandon her and their four young children. She first attended a conference of the Congress in Vancouver, at which 200 Black women were present. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” she says, “because in Calgary more than 20 years ago, how many Black women did you see?”

At the time, Rutherford was one of the few Black teachers who came to Alberta from the Caribbean. With support from the Congress, she went on to earn her bachelor and then masters in education. But it was also the harsh realities of racism along with the desire to assist Black women with education, child development, health, housing, pension and sexism that fuelled her passion to work with the Congress. “Every one of those areas is the bedrock of life, regardless of whether you’re Black or not,” she says. “I know information is power, and all of us need to become more powerful.”

Today, the Congress continues to be influential, providing resources such as scholarships, counselling and mentoring programs. Loris Thomas is the regional representative of the Ontario chapter and former president of the Mississauga chapter. She joined the Congress in 1999 because of its sense of community. “[When I first joined], brunch was not being catered,” she remembers of her first experience with the organization. “But these women would get together and one would make the chicken, one would make the rice, one would make the fish … that community spirit was at work. We work very well together.”

Working together has helped the Congress to remain a cohesive unit that is always open to new members — even the ones that may not yet know about it. Thomas says she’s unsure why many Black women are unaware that the Congress exists, but it doesn’t deter her. “I struggle with that,” she says. “But I think when there’s something going on and they need us, they will certainly find us.”

Thomas has 50 years worth of evidence to back her up.

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