Canada's First Afro-Canadian Lawyer
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ABRAHAM BEVERLEY WALKER 1857-1909, Kars, New Brunswick Canada’s first Afro-canadian lawyer Abraham Beverley Walker was a lawyer and publisher, born and raised in Kars, New Brunswick. He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse in rural New Brunswick and went on to study at the National University School of Law, in Washington, DC, a prestigious program at the time. In 1881, Walker was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, making him the first Black Canadian-born lawyer in the country. He opened a law practice in Saint John and took courses at the Saint John Law School when it opened in 1892, making him among its first students to enroll, as well as its first student of colour. Despite his high education and tenacity, Walker’s legal career was deeply affected by New Brunswick’s colour-line, suffering ridicule by white lawyers in open court and unable to acquire white clients. He was promised consideration for Queen’s Counsel and King’s Counsel positions but later excluded on account of his race. Walker was also the first Black magazine publisher in Canada when, in 1905, he began pub- lishing “Neith,” a magazine aimed at not only improving civil rights but also discussing topics such as literature, politics, science, and economics. In 2019, Walker was honoured posthumously with the Order of New Brunswick. Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Arthur Wallace ‘Duke’ Eatman 1920-1943, Fredericton, New Brunswick WWII Military Leader Arthur Wallace ‘Duke’ Eatman was a non-commissioned officer in the Second World War and son of First World War veteran, James Eatman. Duke attended Charlotte Street School in Fredericton, New Brunswick and is believed to be amongst the school’s first Black students following its integration. In September of 1939, Duke, aged nineteen, enlisted in the Canadian Army almost immediately after the British declaration of war against Germany. He joined the Carleton and York Regiment, a permanent unit formed in New Brunswick’s Saint John River Valley. The unit was then sent overseas to Europe with the 1st Canadian Division, in December of 1939. While serving in the United Kingdom, Duke was promoted to a non-commissioned officer, leading approximately 30 men, most of whom were white. Duke and the Carleton and York Regiment were then deployed during Operation Husky, a planned Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 with a combined force of 160,000 Commonwealth and American troops. Duke was killed in action while leading a patrol, at age 23; he was buried in the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Enna, Sicily. Despite the Canadian Army’s lack of any formalized policy restricting Black lead- ership, Duke remains amongst the only visible examples of a Black non-commissioned officer serving in a non-segregated unit. Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Arthur St. George Richardson 1863-1955, St. George’s, Bermuda First Black PERSON to attend UNB Arthur St. George Richardson was born in St. George’s Bermuda, and immigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1878. He enrolled at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, in 1883. Richardson graduated in 1886 with Honours in Classics, winning several scholarships and leading his class in Greek. He was the first Black student at the University of New Brunswick, as well as the first Black person to graduate from a post-sec- ondary institution in the Maritimes. He went on to become an educator, first teaching at the Wilberforce Collegiate Institute in Chatham, Ontario, where he later served as principal. After immigrating to the United States, Richardson served as President of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, for ten years (1888-1898). He was also Presi- dent of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, for five years (1898-1903). Both Morris Brown College and Edward Waters College are historically Black institutions and continue to operate today. Richardson was appointed to both positions by Bishop G.W. Gaines, an advocate for African-American education initiatives in the late nineteenth century. Richardson also authored several publications on race and racism, arguing that education is vital in battling inequality and discrimination. Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Chris Skinner 1961, Saint John, New Brunswick PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE Chris Skinner is a retired professional football player. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, he is the son of community activist and educator, Clifford ‘Nick’ Skinner. Chris Skinner was a star running back and receiver and played football for Simonds High School in Saint John. He had a standout varsity career at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que- bec, winning All-Star and MVP honours. The Edmonton Eskimos selected Skinner during the first round of the 1984 Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft. After an exceptional season in 1986, Skinner was nominated for the annual CFL Schenley Award, recognizing the most outstanding player in the league. He and the Eskimos went on to win the Grey Cup CFL Championship in 1987. He had a CFL career spanning eight seasons and three teams, also playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders and British Columbia Lions. Skinner was inducted into the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Known for his tenacity and hard work, in the words of one reporter, Skinner is “the best football player ever developed in New Brunswick.” Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Dr. Constance Timberlake 1930-2019, Saint John, New Brunswick Educator and Civil Rights Activist Descended from Black Loyalists, Dr. Constance Timberlake grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. After working in a factory in Saint John, she left her job and moved to the United States to become a teacher. On August 21st, 1963, as head of the Kansas City Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Dr. Timberlake led a protest in which sixteen protestors demonstrated against an amusement park’s ban on Black patrons. While white patrons yelled obscenities and threw stones, it was the demonstrators who were arrested for disturbing the peace by simply laying on the ground. Dr. Timberlake remained devoted to civil rights and education and played an active part in the Asso- ciation for the Study of African American Life and History (ASLAH) and served on local school boards. Dr. Timberlake earned her Ph.D. at Syracuse University, where she was also a faculty member and the University’s Commissioner of Education. Dr. Timberlake later served on the National Advisory Council for Continuing Education in the United States, first appointed by President Jimmy Carter, and reappointed by President Ronald Reagan. She received many distinguished awards, including the international Who’s Who World Women recognition, and Post-Standard Award for Women of Achieve- ment in Education. Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Richard Corankapoon Wheeler ~1753-1801, Location Unknown Black Loyalist Leader Richard Corankapoon Wheeler was a Black Loyalist leader of the late eighteenth century. Before the American Revolution, Corankapoon was enslaved to Caleb Wheeler of New Jersey. In 1776, one year into the war, Corankapoon purchased his own free- dom, going on to serve the British Loyalist side. Corankapoon registered in The Book of Negroes in 1783 along with approximately 3,000 other Black Loyalists, and was entitled to freedom and land grants upon immigrating to New Brunswick (then Nova Scotia) in 1783. Corankapoon was allocated a plot of land in the Westfield-Grand Bay Area along Richards Lake (then Negro Lake), with 35 other Black Loyalist settlers. Able to read and write, he authored petitions on behalf of his community in protest of the dispropor- tionate acreage and land quality granted to white loyalists. Corankapoon continued to petition for greater rights and assistance for his community throughout the 1780s. He then left for Halifax in 1791 and departed for Sierra Leone, amongst 1,190 other Black Loyalists of the Maritimes, led by Thomas Peters. He helped build the community of Freetown, Sierra Leone, serving as the town’s Marshal and inspector of farms. He also funded and oversaw the building of Freetown’s largest cargo-ship at the time. Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights EDWARD MITCHELL BANNISTER 1828-1901, Saint Andrews, New Brunswick ARTIST Edward Mitchell Bannister was a celebrated artist of the 19th century. Though born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, he spent most of his adult life in New England. Bannister was a Tonalist painter, known for his detailed landscape scenes featuring dark hues and quiet nature. He became an art sensation when his painting, “Under the Oaks,” won a medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial. During his lifetime, Bannister was an outspo- ken advocate for the abolition of slavery in the United States and greater racial inclusion in American fine arts. Despite prejudice and bigotry during his career, he was and continues to be celebrated as a talented painter. His work, “The Farm Landing,” is part of a 450-piece permanent art collection at the White House in Washington, DC, listed as one of only five paintings by Black artists. The Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island College’s central fine arts exhibition hall, is named in his honour. Several of Bannister’s paintings are also on display in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with other individual works in galleries and personal collections around the world including the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick.