BLACK HISTORY MONTH
2017
@ Church of the
Resurrection
“Ray”LewiswasbornRaymondGrayLewisinHamilton,Ontarioon8October,1910.
Hisnicknamewas“RapidRay”becausehecouldoutrunmostofhisopponents.He
hadtocontendwithbeingcalledmanyothernamesaswell,becauseracismwasthe
normandblackpeoplehaddifficultydoingeverydaythingssuchasbuyinggroceries,
sittinginthemainsectionofamovietheatre,orgettingatableinarestaurant.
Inelementaryschoolracismwaslessofaproblem.Hislifelong,bestfriendwasofIrishheritageandalsohadto
dealwithbigotrybecausehewasRomanCatholic.YoungRaywasfortunatetohaveanexcellentcoachforwhom
colourwasnotanissue.
Itwasadifferentmatter,however,whenhegottohighschool.Ashegotolder,prejudicegotworse.Thecoachat
hishighschoolwasblatantlyracistanddideverythinghecouldtomakeRay’slifedifficult.
Inspiteofthat,bythetimehegraduatedfromhigh-schoolin1929hehadwon17high-schoolchampionships,
including440YardCanadianNationalChampionship.HewenttoMarquetteUniversity,butwithlittlemoneyand
fewopportunitiestotrain,hedecidedtocomehomeandgetajob.That,however,waseasiersaidthandoneat
thebeginningofTheDepression.
In1930hegotajobwiththeCPRasaporter.Thehourswerelongandtheworkwas
hard,butstopoversandlayoversgavehimtimetotrain,sometimesbyrunningalong
thetrackbesidethetrain.Onthetrainsotherathletes,especiallyhockeyplayers,were
helpfulandtreatedhimwithrespect,whichhelpedtoeasethefrustrationofhavingto
putupwithdisdainfromotherpassengers.
In1932hequalifiedfortheOlympics,thefirstCanadian-bornblackmanonaCanadian
track-and-fieldteam.Hewonabronzemedalinthe4x400metrerelayeventhoughhe
hadalmostnosupportfromthecoaches.Afterthegames,histeam-matesgotvarious
joboffers;Raygottoreturntohisjobasaporter.Hecontinuedtotrainhimselfinpreparationforthe1934British
EmpireGamesinLondonEnglandwherehewonsilverinthemilerelay.Preparingforthe1936Olympicshe
developedshinsplintsandwasunabletocompete.Twoyearslater,attheageof27,heretiredfromcompetition.
Hecontinuedtoworkasaporter,anddidotherodd-jobstomakeenoughmoneytomarrytheloveofhislife,
Vivienne,andtogetahouse.Neighboursdidnotwelcomethematfirst,butthisimprovedaspeoplegottoknow
them.In1945theyadoptedtwoboys,LarryandTony.Sadly,Tonydrownedwhenhewasten.
In1952hestartedhisownbusiness,andin1968becameachauffeurforanOntariocabinetminister.In1978he
becameaFamilyCourtclerkandfinallyretiredattheageofseventy-eight.Hedidagreatdealofpublicspeaking,
especiallywithchildren,alwaysseekingtopromotethebelief:
“Iholdtothenotionthatifpeoplelive,work,andlearntogether,theywillovercomeracialstereotypes.Thewillsee
eachotherastheyreallyare,andwilllearntoappreciatenotonlytheirdifferences,butalsotheirsimilarities.”
Raydiedon15November,2003,andin2005aschoolinHamiltonwasnamedforhim.
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Saheliankingdoms
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TheSaheliankingdomswereaseriesofmedievalempirescentredonthesahel,
theareaofgrasslandssouthoftheSahara.
ThefirstmajorstatetoriseinthisregionwastheGhanaEmpire(Wagadu).ThenameGhana,oftenusedby
historians,wastheregnaltitlegiventotheruleroftheWagaduempire.[8]CenteredinwhatistodaySenegaland
Mauritania,itwasthefirsttobenefitfromtheintroductionofgoldmining.Ghanadominatedtheregion
betweenabout750and1078.SmallerstatesintheregionatthistimeincludedTakrurtothewest,theMalinke
kingdomofMalitothesouth,andtheSonghaiEmpirecentredonGaototheeast.
WhenGhanacollapsedinthefaceofinvasionfromtheAlmoravids,aseriesofbriefkingdomsfollowed,notably
thatoftheSosso(Susu);after1235,theMaliEmpirerosetodominatetheregion.LocatedontheNigerRiverto
thewestofGhanainwhatistodayNigerandMali,itreacheditspeakinthe1350s,buthadlostcontrolofa
numberofvassalstatesby1400.
ThemostpowerfulofthesestateswastheSonghaiEmpire,whichexpandedrapidlybeginningwithkingSonni
Aliinthe1460s.By1500,ithadrisentostretchfromCameroontotheMaghreb,thelargeststateinAfrican
history.Ittoowasquiteshort-livedandcollapsedin1591asaresultofMoroccanmusketry.
Fartotheeast,onLakeChad,thestateofKanem-Bornu,foundedasKaneminthe9thcentury,nowroseto
greaterpreeminenceinthecentralSahelregion.Totheirwest,thelooselyunitedHausacity-statesbecame
dominant.Thesetwostatescoexisteduneasily,butwerequitestable.
In1810,theSokotoCaliphateroseandconqueredtheHausa,creatingamorecentralizedstate.ItandKanemBornuwouldcontinuetoexistuntilthearrivalofEuropeans,whenbothstateswouldfallandtheregionwould
bedividedbetweenFranceandGreatBritain.
JolofEmpire(1350–1889)