The month of February celebrates Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, and the waning down of the winter weather. More notably, and beyond these superfluous celebrations, February celebrates Black History Month. This month not only recognizes the history of Black people in Canada, but it recognizes and praises their tireless contributions to this country. Black Canadians have contributed immensely to the legal field over the past 100 years. Notably, Abraham Beverly Walker is regarded as Canada’s first-ever black lawyer. He was called to the bar in 1882 in St. John New Brunswick and although his law practice in a mostly white city did not flourish, he paved the way for future generations to make their mark on the legal field (Stokes, 2015). Over 100 years later, black excellence nourishes every sector of the legal field and deserves to be recognized. Please read below for some highlights of prominent Black people in Canadian law:
Denise Dwyer: Founder of the Black Female Lawyers Network-
In her time as a young lawyer, Denise Dwyer quickly noted how “the presence of Black people was far more predominant in the role of the accused than it was in the Crown” (Hagi, 2018). Upon this realisation, Dwyer quickly sprung into discussion with her colleagues about their shared struggles as Black women. What was once a series of informal conversations between her and her colleagues has now become an open network dedicated to promoting and showcasing black female legal excellence. The Black Female Lawyers Network emphasises mentorship to amplify the voices of black female lawyers and promote not only their entrance into the field but their persistence in it. Nearly sixteen years after the Network’s inauguration in 2006, those informal conversations have grown into the annual Sistahs-in-Law gathering, bringing in over 100 attendees. To learn more about the Black Female Lawyers Network, please visit their website at https://bfln.ca/
Canadian Association of Black Lawyers-
The Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL) is a national network of law professionals and individuals committed to cultivating and maintaining black legal excellence in Canada. The CABL was inspired by the American national association for Black lawyers, the National Bar Association (NBA). With the vision of extending the mission of the NBA in Canada, five Black Canadian lawyers; Audrea Golding, Chris Wilson, Sonja Salmon, Sandy Thomas, and Michael Tulloch, founded the CABL in 1996. Since its incorporation, CABL has expanded across Canada with five new chapters in Ottawa, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia. Today, CABL serves as a pillar of the legal community for marginalised law professionals. It provides services such as early career development for young Black lawyers and the Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Scholarship for marginalised students in their second-year of their JD or LLB. To learn more about the CABL and its various programs, please visit their website at https://cabl.ca/about/
The Honourable Mahmud Jamal: Current Supreme Court Justice-
In its nearly 147 year history, the Supreme Court of Canada remained starch white up until its 146th year. On July 1, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Honourable Mahmud Jamal as the first person of colour to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada. As a lawyer, he served a highly accomplished career where he practised in the fields of appellate litigation, constitutional and public law, class actions, and commercial litigation. In addition to his time spent as a lawyer, Justice Jamal was a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, a trustee of the Canadian Business Law Journal, and has taught various legal topics at both McGill Faculty of Law and Osgoode Hall Law School. To read Justice Jamal’s official profile and to learn more about his legal practice, please visit his Supreme Court page: https://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/bio-eng.aspx?id=mahmud-jamal
References
Hagi, S. (Sep 28, 2018). This Toronto Lawyer Is Transforming Her Industry by Mentoring Young Black
Women. Reader’s Digest Canada. Retrieved from:
Stokes, M. (July 9, 2015). Who was the First Black Lawyer in Canada?. The Osgoode Society for
Canadian Legal History. Retrieved from:
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