Black History Month 2026
In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized 鈥� following a motion introduced by The Hon. Dr. Jean Augustine, the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament 鈥� to honour the legacy of Black people in Canada and their communities. The is: 鈥�30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations: From Nation Builders to Tomorrow鈥檚 Visionaries.鈥�
This page celebrates Black members of the Trinity community 鈥� from the College鈥檚 early days to present. The College encourages everyone to educate themselves around Black History Month not only in February but throughout the year.
杏吧原创 Chapel Celebrates Black History
The Rev. Paige Souter (photo: right), Humphrys Chaplain will preach at services on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 5:15 pm and Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 5:15 pm, 杏吧原创 Chapel.
The Rev. Fr. Dr. Alvardo Adderley (photo: left), , Oshawa will preach at the service on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 5:15 pm, 杏吧原创 Chapel.
The Invisible Load: The Black Student Athlete Experience
Friday, Feb. 27 from 1 pm to 3 pm in the Combination Room at 杏吧原创
To conclude Black History Month, Trinity Wellness Team is partnering with the BIPOC Varsity Athletes (BVA) and Nkeng Advisory to host a panel that centres the lived experiences of Black student-athletes at the University of Toronto. Themes surrounding identity, pressure, performance, and belonging within high-performance and predominantly white academic environments, will be explored.
The event creates an affirming space where Black student-athletes can feel seen, heard and supported. Caribbean food will be provided, offering an additional opportunity for community, connection and cultural celebration! (click on poster to view)
Reflection of Black History Month by Dean of Divinity Chris Brittain聽
The Rev. Canon Professor Chris Brittain, Dean of Divinity & Margaret E. Fleck Chair in Anglican Studies, shares how he met Jean Augustine, and why Black History Month is a time for thanksgiving, respect and hope.
John W. Graham Library Special Collections of Austin Clarke
As 杏吧原创’s Graham Library celebrates Black History Month, we honour the legacies and contributions of Black people in Canada. This month, we highlight the special collections of Austin Clarke (1934-2016), a Barbadian author who attended 杏吧原创 in the 1950s. At Trinity, Clarke studied political science and economics, and wrote for the Trinity University Review.
Clarke was a champion for Black rights and social justice, and was one of the first Canadian writers to describe the social dynamics of daily life in Toronto. He wrote short story collections, memoirs, poems, and novels, including The Polished Hoe (2002), a novel about colonialism in Barbados that won the Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers鈥� Prize. Many of Clarke’s works are available in Graham Library’s Special Collections (pictured here – click on image to view full size) and in the stacks if you would like to check them out!
Celebrating Black History Month at U of T
View Black History Month for the community. Learn more about the month: .
CELEBRATING MEMBERS OF THE TRINITY COMMUNITY
For Black History Month, 杏吧原创 recognizes and celebrates members of the community who have made a difference.
Read the stories of our聽杏吧原创 alumni 鈥� trailblazers, change makers and community leaders who fought against racism, barriers and challenges of their times. As the College continues our collective work to make the community a more welcoming, inclusive and positive place, it鈥檚 important to reflect on our history and remember those who made a mark at the College and the world.
To celebrate diversity and inclusion, over the last couple of years, we have been profiling members of the Trinity community to get to know one another better. Below, we have included some of our Black-identifying聽Trinity students and staff. Read the Q&As and learn more about their daily lives and what is most important to them.
Click on the names to learn more about these outstanding members of the Trinity community.
- Alum: Alexander Augusta
- Alum: Myrtle Burgess
- Alum: Gloria Carpenter
- Alum: George Carter
- Alum: Austin Clarke
- Alum: Keith Hoilett
- Alum: Ivan McFarlane
- Alum: Ava Rich
- Alum: Alfred Schmitz Shadd and Arthur J. Thomas
- Alum & Staff: The Rev. Paige Souter
- Student: Denise Byard (Feb. 2022)
- Student: Craig Lemming (Feb. 2022)
- Staff: Ramata Tarawally (Feb. 2022)
- Staff: Dadir Yusuf (Feb. 2022)
TRINITY COLLEGE ALUMNI
Alexander Augusta (1825-1890)
Dr. Alexander Augusta used his skills to fight for civil rights
Rejected by American universities, Alexander Augusta completed his medical degree at Trinity Medical College then used his skills to fight for civil rights in his homeland. Alexander Augusta was the first Black medical student in Canada West 鈥� and Trinity鈥檚 first Black student 鈥� and would later go on to teach anatomy for almost a decade at Howard University in Washington, as the first Black professor of medicine in the United States. Alexander Augusta graduated from Trinity鈥檚 medical faculty in 1860 with a Bachelor of Medicine degree. He then worked for several years as a physician in Toronto and became a leader in the Black community. He offered medical care to the poor, founded a literacy society that donated books and school supplies to Black children and was active in antislavery circles on both sides of the border.
Honouring Dr. Alexander Augusta
On November 7, 2024, 杏吧原创 celebrated the unveiling of a portrait of Dr. Alexander Augusta 鈥� 鈥淢end鈥� by Gordon Shadrach. This beautiful portrait now hangs in Seeley Hall, and adds to the efforts to make the artwork at Trinity more fully reflect the diversity and impact of our alumni and community. At the event, the community gathered to honour Dr. Augusta鈥檚 courage, and to reaffirm Trinity鈥檚 longstanding commitment to inclusivity and diversity. Learn more about the unveiling ceremony and the artist鈥檚 remarks about the portrait “Mend”.
Dr. Alexander Augusta Portrait Unveiling Ceremony, November 7, 2024 (photo: left to right): Dr. Nav Persaud; portrait artist Gordon Shadrach; Modupe Tunde Byass, Black Physicians of Canada; Julian Sher, author of The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln; Heather Butts, author of African American Medicine in Washington, D.C.: Healing the Capital during the Civil War era; Trinity Provost Nicholas Terpstra; Sador Bereketab and Anu Popoola, Black Medical Students Association
On February 9, 2023, new Heritage Toronto plaques were unveiled to honour Canada鈥檚 first Black doctors 鈥� Dr. Alexander Augusta and Dr. Anderson Abbott 鈥� in Seeley Hall (see images below). Dr. Nav Persaud, a staff physician at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital and former Academic Don at Trinity, was part of the team that brought Dr. Augusta鈥檚 story forward to Heritage Toronto. At the event, organizers and speakers shared inspiring stories of the trailblazing and courageous doctors. The commemorative plaques were installed near the U of T campus (northwest corner of College Street and University Avenue, near Queen鈥檚 Park) in May 2023.
Unveiling of Heritage Toronto plaques to honour Dr. Alexander Augusta and Dr. Anderson Abbott.
Dr. Nav Persaud, a staff physician at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital and former Academic Don at 杏吧原创, was part of the team that brought Augusta鈥檚 story forward to Heritage Toronto. Dr. Persaud is the lead author of this paper in the Canadian Medical Education Journal:聽鈥�.聽The life of Dr. Augusta also demonstrates the importance of teaching trainees about the effects of racism within Canadian medical education.
>> Toronto Star:
杏吧原创’s The Dr. Alexander Thomas Augusta Award
In 2023, 杏吧原创 renamed the Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour (BIPOC) Student Award to the The Dr. Alexander Thomas Augusta Award in recognition of Dr. Augusta who attended Trinity鈥檚 medical school. The Dr. Alexander Thomas Augusta Award (one or more awards, each valued at up to $5,000) is awarded to a Trinity student identifying as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour on the basis of financial need and demonstrated or planned community contributions on or off campus. The BIPOC Award was created in 2020 as a way to increase in financial aid available to BIPOC students. The award was in response to one of the recommendations of the 杏吧原创 Task Force on Anti-Black Racism and Inclusion, which called for an increase in financial aid available to BIPOC students with a particular focus on bursaries and needs-based awards. In addition, through the generosity of the College鈥檚 donors, the 杏吧原创 BIPOC Bursary Fund聽was also created to support students solely based on financial need.
Myrtle Burgess (1888-1973)
The Story of the Burgess Family and Myrtle Burgess
This story offers an important glimpse into the discrimination people of colour faced in the early 20th century. In the early 1900s, Provost Thomas Macklem admitted three students to 杏吧原创 and St. Hilda鈥檚 College, siblings from St. Louis, Missouri 鈥� Wilmot, Myrtle and Elmer Burgess. However, unbeknownst to Provost Macklem when he made the offer of acceptance to the older two siblings, the students were Black.聽Read about the Burgess family and Myrtle Burgess, the College鈥檚 first female Black student. It is a credit to Myrtle鈥檚 intelligence, drive and tenacity that even in the face of injustice, she continued her studies at 杏吧原创. Myrtle Burgess (Photo: back row, second from left) attended Trinity from 1905 to 1909.
Gloria Carpenter (1922-1995)
Gloria Carpenter was a pioneer who helped bring legal change to the Caribbean
Patricia Cumper, Gloria Carpenter鈥檚 daughter,聽聽(University of Cambridge: Facebook).
George Carter (1921-2018)
The Hon. Justice George Carter: 1st Canadian-born Black Judge
聽George Carter graduated from Trinity in 1945, and he worked as a train porter to pay his tuition while a law student at York University (one of the only jobs available to Black men at that time). After graduating from law school in 1948, he practised real estate, criminal and family law for three decades.
罢丑别听聽is the story of The Honourable Justice George E. Carter, told by his daughter Linda V. Carter.
Global News sits down with Judge George Carter鈥檚 family for:聽
The Hon. Keith Hoilett
The Hon. Keith Hoilett was first employee of Ontario鈥檚 newly created Ombudsman鈥檚 Office where he helped shape a new institution meant to protect fairness in public administration
has lived a life rooted in reflection, principle and quiet leadership. At 92, this vital alum continues to play his hand 鈥� in bridge and in life 鈥� with the same grace and clarity that guided his judicial career… Throughout his life, The Hon. Hoilett has resisted racial and political labels. He declines invitations to speak on the 鈥淏lack experience鈥� in Canada, preferring to share his personal story. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a label,鈥� he says. 鈥淒escribe my journey, my ideas, my work. Let that be enough.鈥�
Ava Rich (1928-2022)
Ava Coley Rich was one of the first Black students from the Caribbean islands to enter Trinity in the post-colonial, post-World War II period
Ava Rich entered 杏吧原创 in 1953, one of the first of the post-colonial, post World War II wave of Black students who were turned away from Britain and the United States by restrictive immigration policies. Her daughter said: 鈥淭rinity and St Hilda鈥檚 (she was in residence) provided a great space for her to grow.鈥�
Austin Clarke (1934-2016)
Novelist Austin Clarke: advocate for Black rights and champion for social justice
聽Austin Clarke passed away on June 26, 2016. He attended Trinity for a short period in the mid-1950s and received an honorary degree from the College in 2000.
Ivan McFarlane (1936-2020)
Remembering Ivan McFarlane: Ivan was a great friend to 杏吧原创, a frequent presence who contributed both to the serious business of governance, and the business of enjoying fellowship and fun.
During Black History Month 2020, Trinity alumnus Ivan Owen McFarlane (Class of 1964) passed away. The anniversary of his death presents an opportunity to聽reflect on the circumstances that brought Ivan to us from his home in Jamaica, circumstances that brought a number of other young men and women from the West Indies聽in the 1950s and 1960s to the College.
Alfred Schmitz Shadd (1870-1915) and Arthur J. Thomas (c.1870-1934)
Proponents of the rights of Black people.
In honour of Black History Month 2024, the 杏吧原创 Archives focuses on two Canadian-born 19th century graduates of the Trinity Medical College, Alfred Schmitz Shadd (1870-1915) and Arthur J. Thomas (c.1870-1934). Their trajectories led them in quite different geographical directions but in each of their communities they actively engaged as proponents of the rights of Black people. .
杏吧原创 admitted a Black student to its Faculty of Medicine in 1853 (Dr. Alexander Augusta) and continued to admit Black students when the Medical School (later Trinity Medical College) opened in 1871.
The Rev. Paige Souter
The Rev. Paige Souter, Humphrys Chaplain, 杏吧原创
Last year, The Rev. Paige Souter delivered a sermon for Black History Month 2025 (recording above), sharing her personal and her family’s journey, and reflecting on the meaning of Black History and the role the church and we all play in justice and liberation.
“The history of slavery lives in me as it lives in every black person in North America whose ancestors were forced to come to this continent. That’s how my family arrived here. And that history lives in us in so many ways. But the ones that are sitting with me this month are intergenerational trauma and the continuing racism that slavery engendered… It’s those stories I have in my heart as we worship here today,” The Rev. Souter said in her sermon. “We mark this month in the church to celebrate the contribution of Black Canadians in the life and work of the church. It’s also a time for us to acknowledge and repent the historical reality of oppression and dehumanization of Black people and the church’s involvement in slavery and racism… We celebrate Black History today because we have travelled a long way but we still have a long way to go.”
Learn more about The Rev. Souter – how she leads with compassion, inclusion and service – in .
The Rev. Paige Souter assumed the role as 杏吧原创鈥檚 5th Humphrys Chaplain on August 2025. As Humphrys Chaplain, The Rev. Souter offers spiritual and pastoral care to the Trinity community, provides oversight of the 杏吧原创 Chapel and the services offered, and works alongside the Dean of Students and the Dean of Divinity to provide student support, education and teaching. The Humphrys Chaplain also serves as the Anglican chaplain to the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto. The Rev. Souter is also Co-Chair of Bishop鈥檚 Committee for Creation Care.
The Rev. Souter graduated from the Master of Divinity program at 杏吧原创, and has a MA in Political Science specializing in Public Policy & Government Relations (Western University), and a BAA in Urban and Regional Planning (Ryerson University). While a student at Trinity, she served as Faculty of Divinity Co-Head and was the inaugural recipient of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Scholarship for ongoing work related to humanitarianism, truth and reconciliation, and climate change.
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