Dr. Rosemary Brown has the distinction of being the first Black woman in Canada to be elected to public office, in 1972 in BC, serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the provincial legislature until 1986. She is also the first Black woman in Canada to run for the leadership of a federal political party, 1975, finishing, after four ballots, a close second in the NDP leadership race.
Highlights:
She came to Canada in 1951, to complete her studies and later worked in social work in the 1960s; worked with the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, the Riverview Mental Hospital, the Montreal Children's Hospital, and as a counsellor at Simon Fraser University (SFU). In 1987, she was the Ruth Wynn Woodford Professor of the Endowed Chair in Women's Studies at SFU; is a former CEO of MATCH International and continues in the role of President of this NGO, which works with women in developing countries. She has participated in many national and international conferences on peace, women's issues and human rights. In 1993, she was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and served until 1996.
Affiliations/Memberships:
Founding member, Vancouver Status of Women Council; founding member, Institute of Public Affairs, Dalhousie U.; Judicial Council, BC.
Honors:
15 honorary degrees from universities across Canada, including UBC, U of T, McGill, Mount Saint Vincent, Dalhousie; Order of Canada; Order of BC; Order of Distinction, Commander, Govt. of Jamaica; Member, Privy Council; Award, National Coalition of Canada; Black Historical & Cultural Society, BC.
Works:
Include, autobiography, Being Brown, 1989.
Reviewed in:
WWIC; WWCW; Millennium Minds, 2000; Some Black Women, 1993; Journey: African Canadian History, 2000. Education: MSW, 1965; BSW, 1962, UBC. BA, McGill U., 1955.
Deceased: April 2003
Biography ©2002 Who's Who in Black Canada. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted from page 87
Posted by Gary Pieters, on January 5, 2004.