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The South Etobicoke News July 2020

South Etobicoke News

Remembering a legend- I often walk by a fading wall mural of one of Canada’s top jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, who has won eight Grammy Awards and was known as the ‘man with four hands’ or the ‘Brown Bomber of Boogie-Woogie’ in his heyday. Peterson’s portrait stands out this Black History Month among local marathoner Jerome Drayton and Olympic figure skater, Petra Burka, who also grace an Etobicoke wall of fame. Peterson, who died in December 2007 at the age of 82, was born in...Continue reading

The North York offices of the iconic Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) will be getting a fresh paint job courtesy of the painters’ union as they celebrate Black History Month in February. About two dozen members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), District Council 46, will be celebrating Black history by giving back to the community. Ivan Dawns, an IUPAT business agent, said volunteers will gather on February 2 to paint the sprawling 11,200-squ...are-foot building at 995 Arrow Rd., which hosts many crucial programs and services. The work is to commemorate and celebrate Black History Month, Dawns said. Our members wanted to do something to give back to the community. He said Mayor John Tory and Mitzie Hunter, the MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood, have promised to attend and help out with the huge undertaking. We are looking forward to helping the JCA, Dawns said. It is one of the longest-serving agencies in the Jamaican community. He expects IUPAT volunteers to use more than 30-gallons of paint for the job, which starts at 8 a.m. and goes to 5 p.m. Officials of the JCA said they are working together and building on the foundation towards a greater community for all and are inviting members of the community to drop by and help with the paint job. The building was purchased by the JCA in 1996 and significant renovations were and continue to be made. The JCA was founded in 1962 by a group of concerned Jamaicans living in Toronto. The impetus for the creation of the association was the emergence of Jamaica from colonial status to becoming an independent nation in August 1962. The organization was one of the first in Toronto lobbying for changes to immigration and policing laws as it affected Jamaicans and other Caribbean people. The JCA has grown and now deliver programs, services and provides a physical hub for the community. Officials say they advocate to improve the wellbeing and equity of Jamaican, Caribbean and AfricanCanadian communities within the Greater Toronto Area. IUPAT represents more than 8,500 members in Ontario who work in the finishing trades, industrial and commercial painting, drywall finishing, glazing and glass work, sign and display and floor covering installation. Dawns and volunteers from other organizations travelled to Jamaica in July last year to help build the Wakefield Infant School in Trelawney. The JCA in its freshly-painted building will host the 100th birthday party for Miss Lou, the Jamaican iconic folk hero and story teller, with a Boonoonoonos Brunch on February 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $60.