Zanana Akande was the first black woman to be appointed to Ontario’s Cabinet. She was Minister of Community and Social Services in Premier Bob Rae’s government.
Ms. Akande was born in 1937 and was raised in Toronto by parents who immigrated to Canada from St. Lucia and Barbados, where they had worked as teachers. They were prohibited from working as teachers in Canada but encouraged Ms Akande to strive for a good education, and also to aspire to work in a professional field. She attained a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto and worked as a teacher before entering politics.
Ms. Akande described her and her party’s greatest achievement during their time in office as “We helped to keep the rudder straight, and not destroy the hope of the most vulnerable people.”
After leaving politics, Ms. Akande served as president of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and Canadian Alliance of Black Educators and the Toronto Child Abuse Centre. She worked with several other community-based endeavours including the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Family Services Association, the Elizabeth Fry Society and Doctors Hospital. She was the recipient of the African Canadian Achievement Award for Education and the Award of Distinction from the Congress of Black Women.
Ms. Akande is quoted as saying “A city as large and culturally diverse as Toronto owes whatever success in racial harmony it enjoys to the constant vigilance of its citizens, its officials, and its organizations.” In her years of public service she demonstrated the vigilance necessary to promote and encourage Toronto’s attempts towards racial harmony.
