Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Rawlson King gave the following statement celebrating Black History Month at the February 12, 2025 Council meeting:
Thank you all for joining us today as we celebrate Black History Month here in the City of Ottawa.
Each February, we gather to honour and celebrate the remarkable achievements of Black communities, not just in our city, but across Canada. This month gives us a precious opportunity to listen to their stories, learn from their experiences, and recognize their invaluable contributions to our society.
Ottawa's Black community has been an integral part of our city's fabric for generations. From the early settlers who helped build our communities to today's leaders in business, education, healthcare, and public service, Ottawa’s Black residents have played a crucial role in shaping our city's identity and success.
However, as we celebrate these achievements, we must also acknowledge the challenging truths of our past and present. Many members of our Black community continue to face systemic barriers, racism, and discrimination in their daily lives. As an Ottawa City Councillor and as a member of this community, I believe we have a responsibility to address these challenges head-on.
In recent years, we've seen important steps forward. Canada's recognition of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent and the federal commitment of over $1 billion to support Black communities nationwide have created new opportunities. Here in Ottawa, we're working to ensure these initiatives have meaningful impact at the local level.
In 2022, Mayor Sutcliffe and your City Council approved an Anti-Racism Strategy. That strategy is a five-year plan to proactively identify and remove systemic barriers in City policies, programs and services. This strategy proposes an action plan with seven areas of focus, 28 recommendations and 132 actions to be implemented over the next five years.
In 2024, the City approved a Poverty Reduction Strategy, which offers a city-wide vision for people to have the resources they need to make decisions about their well-being and pursue their full potential. Developed under the guidance of more than 70 organizations, with engagement from 200 residents, the strategy focuses on food security, employment, financial security and economic development. In the City’s 2025 budget, $30.8 million was allocated to support more than 100 non-profit social service agencies to address the root causes of poverty.
As Council Liaison for Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives, I am pleased that Council allocated $150,000 to support an Anti-Hate Campaign in this city, as well as additional community initiatives designed to improve social and economic equity, especially for youth.
I'm also particularly excited to share some of our City's current initiatives for Black History Month. This February, our public transit system is showcasing a special Black History Month mural on three OC Transpo double-decker buses. This project, developed in collaboration with Black History Ottawa and our City's African, Caribbean, Black Employees Network, celebrates the theme "Legacies worth preserving, creating and celebrating." I encourage you to watch for these moving artworks throughout our city this month.
We're also enriching our understanding through educational initiatives. As you may have noticed, we have worked with the City of Ottawa Archives to honour Black residents with a small exhibition of photographs outside of Council Chambers.
City staff have also participated in interactive sessions exploring historical sites that highlight the presence, experiences, and contributions of Black Canadians in Ottawa. These sessions, produced by Black History Ottawa, help build our collective knowledge about the pioneers who have shaped Ottawa's Black community and strengthen our capacity to address racial inequalities in both the workplace and community.
In the spirit of commemoration, the Black community is also pleased that a park in Vanier, under the leadership of Councillor Plante, and with the support of the Mayor and Council, has been renamed after Herbert and Estelle Brown to honour the legacy of these incredible entrepreneurs and community leaders.
This year's Black History Month theme calls upon us to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of such trailblazers, while working toward a more equitable and inclusive future. In our city, we're fortunate to have vibrant Black-owned businesses, cultural organizations, and community leaders who enrich our local economy and culture every day. Many of those leaders have joined us at City Hall and I would like to acknowledge the incredible work that you undertake on a daily basis for which we are extremely grateful.
But we know there's much more work that needs to be done.
I am particularly proud to highlight some remarkable progress being made in our health and social services sector. The Somerset West Community Health Centre, as the administrative backbone for the Ottawa Black Mental Health Coalition, has been leading transformative work in addressing health disparities in our Black communities. Their recent receipt of $1.67 million from Ontario Health to advance the provincial Black Health Plan in Ottawa represents a significant milestone in our journey toward health equity.
This funding will enable the expansion of essential services, including increased hiring of Black health professionals, extended clinic hours, and strengthened partnerships with Black-led organizations. These initiatives are crucial steps in addressing the systemic barriers that have historically impacted access to healthcare in our Black communities.
Additionally, I am excited about the establishment of an independent Ottawa Black Coalition, which represents a watershed moment in how Ottawa’s Black communities approach service delivery and advocacy. This coalition will provide a unified voice and coordinated approach to addressing systemic inequities across all sectors. Such a voice is important since “Fairness for Ottawa” must extend not just to infrastructure and transit, but also to equitable investment in community-sensitive health and social service programming for the Black community.
As the Council Liaison, I am committed to ensuring that Ottawa becomes an increasingly inclusive city where every resident can thrive. This means continuing to support these initiatives, working with our Black communities, listening to their voices, and taking concrete action to remove barriers to success.
Black History Month reminds us that diversity is more than just a demographic fact – it's one of our greatest strengths. But inclusion requires active choice and ongoing commitment. It requires all of us to listen, learn, and act.
I encourage everyone in our community to take time this month to learn more about the rich history of Black Ottawa. Visit our local Black-owned businesses, attend the many cultural events happening throughout the city, and engage with the diverse stories and experiences that make our community stronger.
Together, we can build a more inclusive Ottawa – one that honours its past while creating opportunities for all its residents to succeed. Thank you, and let's make this Black History Month a time of both celebration and meaningful action toward positive change.
Thank you.
