Madam Speaker, the links between the War of 1812 and freed slaves coming to Canada is the fact that we have an omnibus crime bill that will send more people to prison, where African Nova Scotians and African Canadians are already disproportionately represented.
I want an omnibus crime bill that is full of measures that actually combat crime. How about an omnibus bill that is full of reforms for education, housing, training programs and real justice reforms?
As I mentioned, last night when I was at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, El Jones read a poem that sort of got these ideas in my head. I thought I would never be able to say it better than El Jones, so I would like to read into the record an excerpt from the poem she read at that service. I would never try to appropriate her voice, but I want to share her words with my colleagues in the House. The excerpt is as follows:
It wasn't that he was special
There is nothing detectable in his origins
That make him better than anyone present
The lesson is that we should be skeptical when they tell us
That we were not born to be successful
Born of a hardworking shoemaker and a mama who was respectable
His life seems a familiar spectacle
Began his education just down on Maynard Street in 1882
Which goes to show the youth that there is nothing they can't do
Look at the life of this man who was just like you.
And lord knows how hard we have to struggle
We're still getting half as much and having to work double
James Robinson Johnston had all the same troubles.
He wasn't the first black to go to Dalhousie but he was the first to finish
And I don't know but I can imagine that he could have won a Guinness world record
For all the racism he endured but he refused to be diminished.
And we're still living with the same issues impeding our progress
Still the only black faces still not enough black professors
Still feeling like temporary guests and being questioned about our presence
Because just this September I heard a black student say
This place just isn't welcome for us. Imagine more than a century before us
No black student center, no blacks on campus to act as his mentor
At a time when achieving even an elementary education was eventful
It's amazing to me that anyone entered and not only did he come back semester after semester
He ended up in law school. This ancestor did not allow himself to be rejected.
Look at our people so often neglected
And said let me represent them.
And it was bigger than just securing his own status
In our fight for acceptance he took us all up the ladder
Because now no-one could say they just don't have the talent
Saw a need in our communities and jumped into the battle
And this brother was doing it in English and Latin
So don't let them ever tell you that the same dreams can't happen.
And I wouldn't be surprised if they spat in his face
But James Robinson Johnston remained on the case
And he never forgot the community in his practice.
So many of our leaders turn their backs and try to fatten their wallets
He fought for the people who no-one thought mattered.
[...]
And maybe it was tough to be happy struggling so hard to succeed
And it can't have been easy always being the token only
Who knows of the pressures that must have left him lonely.
But history teaches us that in the present we learn from back then
When the biggest cause of death for young black men is from other black men
And so the lesson I take from his life is something essential
No matter what your condition you have so much potential
Remember so many black men who die how he died
Could have lived the same credentials
So let's stop being content with being told we belong in the basement
Our life is not defined by some predestination
In fact James Robinson Johnston show us that it's full of surprises
So we need to keep fighting for programs that build on his foundations
Like the Transition Year Program that guides us to university education
So let's commit to expanding its classes so more can participate
And let's not rest until we have a zero per cent drop out rate
And let's create the IB&M program in every school across the nation
Because we need black lawyers and judges to advocate for us
Reforming the courts where we are disproportionately jailed
And let's not rest on our laurels until we've fought against all discrimination
Let's make sure we have black students graduating in force from every university
And that they feel supported
And let's see us excelling in more than music and sports
So let's start fundraising for black studies courses
So our youth can learn about people like James Robinson Johnston
People like them whose histories deserve to be explored
And let's export that knowledge to every elementary, junior high and high school
Until our youth's pride in themselves is restored
Let's have black teachers and professors and black members of the school board
And let's educate the first black mayor and the first black prime minister
Could be from right here.
And let's stop pretending we can't afford to fund black organizations
Or reading programs or housing or daycares
With money from black taxpayers
Let's stop debating whether our needs are important
Because more than a century ago James Robinson Johnston taught us
That when we fight for ourselves our future lies before us
And so let's celebrate his life by moving his legacy forward
James Robinson Johnston, thank you for being there for us.
It is time to do what we know will actually prevent crime. Let us not lead just by locking our citizens up.