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Jan 21: Lincoln Alexander Day, a Hamiltonian to remember

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January 21 is Lincoln Alexander Day, a day to commemorate a beloved and accomplished Hamiltonian who made a mark for the equal treatment of Black Canadians.

Alexander was born in Toronto on Jan. 21, 1922. His father was a carpenter by trade but worked as a railway porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway. His mother worked as a maid.

He served Canada as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and was a lawyer and a civic leader, breaking barriers and blazing trails for those who followed him.

Shortly after the Second World War, Alexander worked as a machinist in a Hamilton-based factory, making anti-aircraft guns for the war effort despite being too young to enlist.

He later joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and served as a corporal until 1945.

Alexander earned a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1949 and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1953.

He became the first Black person to be elected to Canada’s House of Commons where he represented Hamilton West. He was re-elected four times, serving a total of 12 years.

In 1979, Alexander was appointed Minister of Labour and became the first Black Canadian to serve as a federal cabinet minister.

In 1985, he was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. During this time he played an integral role in the fight for equity, diversity and inclusion in Canadian society.

He was a passionate advocate for the advancement of education and served as Chancellor of the University of Guelph and Chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

Alexander died on Oct. 19, 2012 and the following year the provincial government proclaimed Jan. 21 ‘Lincoln Alexander Day’. The federal government officially recognized the day in Dec. 2014 and started honouring it in January 2015.

Schools in Hamilton, Ajax and Mississauga bear Lincoln Alexander’s name, as does the expressway in Hamilton, commonly called “the Linc” in reference to Alexander’s nickname.

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