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Life and legacy of Reverend Robert Foster


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Reverend Robert Foster dedicated much of his life to bringing people together, particularly empowering Hamilton’s Black community. CHCH News spoke with his grandsons on his legacy and how they look to continue his work.

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Rob Foster says some of his fondest memories of his grandfather Reverend Robert Foster are the days they worked side by side, “he was employed with the Ontario Jockey Club, so I worked with him at Woodbine Racetrack. He was the clergy and he was the river there as well.”

After his dad died, Rod Foster says the reverend became a father figure, a role he had with many living in downtown Hamilton, “he was like the patriarch of our family and in the community. Everybody talked about Robert Foster. His nickname was coach Foster. Coach Foster, because he coached teams and not just Black teams. He coached all multiracial.”

Robert was born in Louisianna in 1920 and he was adopted at a young age by the Fosters, a Hamilton family. Robert had always understood being an outsider in more ways than one.

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Rod Foster says, “he taught me what racism is. Segregation, discrimination. He talking about all the things about self-esteem when I was in my early childhood before I knew I was Black.”

Foster eventually took the role of reverend at one of the city’s first Black churches, Stewart Memorial, where he continued to spread his message of Black empowerment.

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The reverend continued to work to build the Black community in Hamilton by helping to create the Afro-Canadian-Caribbean Association (ACCA) serving as its first president.

Now, his grandchildren look to continue to build on what the reverend established. Rod, a former parole officer, and longtime fitness coach is working to try to guide young people the way his grandfather did.

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