How About The Charles Roach Highway, asks community
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| Family and Friends of Charley Roach hold up the Charley Roach Lane sign |
Massive turnout for unveiling of Charley Roach Lane
The City held an early evening traffic stopping celebration in
the memory of the late community activist Charley Roach on Wednesday, July
18th. Over 400 people jammed a small laneway stopping traffic on Rushton
Road and briefly on St Clair Avenue West, to take part in the unveiling of the newly
renamed Charley Roach Lane!
Charley Roach was born on September 18, 1933, in the community
of Belmont in Trinidad and Tobago. He and his first wife Hetty, immigrated to
Canada in 1955 and eventually in Ontario where he studied law at the University
of Toronto.
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| Councillor Joe and Sunset take cover off sign |
As a newly minted human rights lawyer, he quickly became a
leader in Toronto's growing black community. He defended the rights of
Caribbean nannies, challenged racial profiling, demanded police accountability
and became known for providing legal representation to working class
individuals and communities, regardless of their ability to pay.
He himself stayed a landed immigrant until his death. For more
than 50 years Mr. Roach refused to take an oath to the Queen – a mandatory
citizenship law he fought unsuccessfully to change for a quarter century. Charley Roach is one of the founders of the Black Action
committee. He was also one of the founding members of
Caribana.
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| Caribbean Camera - first page of a 2-page feature by Stephen Weir |
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