Black History month wraps up with celebration at Runnymede Healthcare Centre.
Sibylla Griffiths takes in the Black History Month display at Runnymede Healthcare Centre. (Feb. 24, 2011)
Staff photo/LISA RAINFORD
Trinidadians are a carefree people, easy going and cheerful, according to Sibylla Griffith.
She should know. She's a Trinidad native herself. Griffith, who currently calls Brampton home, visited Runnymede Healthcare Centre for its Black History Month celebration, Thursday morning, Feb. 24, at the prompting of a friend. She was particularly intrigued because the hospital's annual event this year focused on her birthplace along with the island of Tobago.
At 10 a.m., the hospital kicked off its festivities with an opening prayer and the singing of the Trinidad and Tobago and Canadian anthems, followed by speeches highlighting prominent North American Black movers and shakers like Canada's first black judge George E. Carter, Willie O'Ree, the NHL's first black player dubbed the "Jackie Robinson of Hockey," and Peter C. Butler, Canada's first black police officer.
"This has become a very big part of Runnymede's tradition," said President and CEO Connie Dejak. "You enrich our lives and share your culture. I'm so very impressed each and every year. The number of volunteer hours that goes into this is impressive."
Dejak paid homage to the founder of the hospital's annual Black History Month celebration, the late Dean Cameron, a nurse at Runnymede Healthcare Centre from 1998 until her death in 2007. Cameron lost her hard-fought battle with cancer just days before the fourth annual event. She had overseen its planning from her hospital bed. A moment of silence was held in honour of Cameron following the opening prayer.
Each year, her family attends the event to carry on her legacy. Her husband Evan Clark, flies in each year from his native Jamaica.
"I feel so blessed to be a part of the Runnymede family," said Clark.
Cameron and Clark's daughter Suzette Linton and granddaughter Jasmine, who live in Oshawa, said it's an honour to see the hospital carry on her mother's work. She was joined by her sisters, Jeanette and Leisha Cameron.
The day included a pot luck luncheon comprised of Caribbean fare, a carnival of costumes, contest and prizes as well as steel drum band and Calypso music.