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CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
How a Brantford, Ont., group uncovered history of 'trailblazing' Black woman who attended university in 1885
When they began searching for Black history in Brantford, Ont., a group of community organizers say they had no idea they'd come across someone as notable as Blanche E. Williams. After attending high school in Brantford in the 1880s, Williams became the first Black woman to attend the University of Toronto with the same privileges, including attending the same lectures, as white students, said Amanda Mersereau, director of Unite Against Hate, an anti-racism community group. "In the late 1800s, this was unheard of," said Mersereau in an interview. "This is a trailblazing individual." Now that accomplishment is being recognized by the City of Brantford and Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB), which will name a new community centre, park and school after Williams. Mersereau said the decision is a "step in the right direction." "We're continuing her legacy and shining a light where it wasn't being shone," Mersereau said. Unite Against Hate member Angel Panag nominated Williams in a public naming processes. When the city and GEDSB learned what United Against Hate had uncovered, they decided to act. "With education as the path to transformation, Blanche Williams interrupted racial barriers and showed us what's possible," said Liana Thomposn, a GEDSB superintendent in an April news release. "Naming our school after her is a celebration not only of her groundbreaking achievements, but her story inspires all of us to be courageous, strong and to persevere to achieve our dreams." 'I feel proud of her' Mersereau co-founded Unite Against Hate in 2020, promoting Brantford's Black-owned businesses and then highlighting Black history in the city and developing anti-racism education. Local historian Sarah Clarke joined the effort to find and make Black history more accessible. When digging through newspaper archives, she came across an 1885 Globe and Mail story about Williams. "Miss Blanche Williams, of Brantford, will have every right which her acquirements and Canadian citizenship fully entitle her to claim," said the article. "The only other [Black ladies] of our provincial university were two sisters ... but were not allowed by regulations then in force to attend lectures," said the newspaper, including that the sisters were from Chatham, Ont., and had the last name Jones. It's unclear why Williams was allowed to attend lectures when the sisters weren't a few years before. Clarke looked through census records, directories, historic maps, baptismal logs and archives from the University of Toronto to find out more about Williams. She also found an article about Williams's accomplishment in the the Huntsville Gazette in Alabama. Before attending the University of Toronto, Williams graduated from what's now called the Brantford College Institute and Vocational School in Brantford. She attended First Baptist Church with her parents Charles and Josephine and was baptized there in 1870. Her father worked as a barber at what was then a Brantford landmark, the Kerby House Hotel. In 1886, he and his wife moved to Toronto and he worked at the Palmer House hotel that was located at the corner of York and King streets. That year, at university, Williams passed math, history, geography, classics and English. "She did quite well, especially considering all the prejudice she must have faced during that time," said Mersereau. "I feel proud of her. I feel like we know her." The group doesn't know what happened to the Williams family after 1886 and hasn't found any photographs of them, or descendents, but they hope as word spreads about her, other historians will join the effort.
Hamilton Spectator
28-06-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Some local school boards are fully air-conditioned. Why can't HWDSB cool its schools?
Students at an east Mountain public school were removed from class on Tuesday as temperatures in the building continued to climb amid a record-breaking heat wave . A 'faulty' air conditioner left the school with a single cool space, the gym — not enough for all Cecil B. Stirling students — the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) said, and students were relocated to a nearby high school. But this elementary school is just 20 per cent air-conditioned to begin with, one of dozens across the city's public school board that isn't fully cooled. With temps feeling as high as 46, parents cite health concerns in schools with no A/C. Overall, more than half of HWDSB schools are not fully cooled, some with as little as five per cent A/C coverage. Meanwhile, schools at some neighbouring boards are fully or almost fully cooled. All Hamilton and Halton Catholic schools and nearly 90 per cent of Halton public schools are fully air-conditioned, boards say. The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board says all student learning spaces, except hard-to-cool gyms, are air-conditioned; its public counterpart, the Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB), says all but two of its schools have 'complete or partial cooling solutions.' 'We recognize the importance of maintaining comfortable learning environments for students and staff,' spokesperson Ryan Strang said in an email. The board is prioritizing schools with the greatest needs, and incorporating A/C into all new major construction projects, he said. It's unclear how many GEDSB schools are fully cooled. Why, then, can HWDSB not cool its schools? Part of the reason is that the board has some of the oldest schools in the region, and maybe the province, associate director Matthew Gerard said. Other boards, he said, have likely grown more than the HWDSB in recent years, which typically means more consolidating and new construction, he said. The HWDSB's aging fleet requires more work, and therefore more funding, than newer buildings. Funding for improvement and renewal is allocated by the province based on the condition of facilities, as opposed to the number of students, Gerard said. 'It's not necessarily a smoothed trend line,' he said, noting smaller boards may get proportionately more funding. The school board said earlier this month installing A/C in schools without it could cost up to $200 million, money the board doesn't have to spend. The board has an existing facilities renewal backlog of about $615 million, about half of it deemed urgent. 'There's definitely a greater need based on our facilities condition than we have the resources to sustain,' Gerard said. Geography plays a role, too. Being in a largely urban area where land is precious, the board has to 'build up a lot more than out,' adding to construction costs, he said. Tenants at 101 Governors Rd. say a weeks-long air conditioner failure at the seven-storey Meanwhile, its Catholic counterpart has been slowly adding A/C to its fleet over decades and became fully air-conditioned in the early 2020s. Since then, the board has focused on replacing window units with better equipment, a job they expect to wrap up this summer. 'We've been tracking for the last several years areas that haven't been addressed, and then year by year we try to allocate some of our capital,' facilities manager Paul Ferrie said. In the last five years, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) has spent more than $23 million on HVAC, nearly $8 million of it on A/C. It's unclear how much the HWDSB has spent in the same time frame. The public board didn't share its HVAC expenditures by deadline on Tuesday. Former HWCDSB chair Pat Daly, a trustee of four decades, said the board has long prioritized top-notch facilities. Ferrie said the board's relatively young fleet — an estimated 40 per cent of the Catholic board buildings are less than 40 years old — works in its favour. Managing capital needs is a balancing act, Ferrie said, noting the board works to address needs before they become a problem. The Catholic board has a backlog of around $166 million. 'It is critical,' he said. 'Waiting for failure isn't a great strategy because you can be very vulnerable.' At Hamilton's public board, classrooms and schools without A/C can close when indoor temperatures surpass 45 C with humidity. At 40 C, staff are expected to begin to monitor students for potential health issues. Stirling is the board's first heat-related closure this year. 'We knew breaching the threshold was inevitable, so we were as proactive as possible,' spokesperson Allison Reynolds said in a message. The temperature threshold was derived from guidance from the Ministry of Education and Environment Canada, Gerard said. He noted these are guidelines only, and principals have local autonomy to address heat at their own schools. Some say the 45 C mark is too high. Extreme heat can put kids' health at risk and have 'harmful effects' on their brains, Erica Phipps, executive director of the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment (CPCHE), said in an email. 'This is not just a matter of comfort,' she said. 'This is about children's well-being, their ability to learn and their futures.' Heat, the organization said in an April 24 news release, 'deepens inequities.' Some students live in areas with less green space, denser housing and poor access to cool spaces, Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) lawyer Jacqueline Wilson said in the release. 'Many attend schools without air conditioning or outdoor shade — conditions that turn already hot days into dangerous ones,' she said. The organization is calling for a maximum temperature standard of 26 C indoors, as well as investment into A/C, shade and other cooling solutions. Last year was the hottest year on record. 'The time to act is now,' Phipps said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
