CBWC | Ontario Region

Recognizing Our National Leaders

Recognizing Our National Leaders

We recognize these trail blazing Congress women who picked up the baton across Canada, following the 1980 formal structure of the National Congress of Black Women of Canada. Our community has been enriched by their contribution and their commitment to the vision and the mission of the organization. For those who have passed leaving us a legacy to carry on, may they rest in peace. To the many others who continue to support the organization in a capacity befitting them at this time, we thank you.

In Memory

Dr. Glenda Simms passed on December 31, 2021. She was one of the founding members and President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada. A renown feminist, she became the first Black woman to be appointed president of the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She contributed her skills both in Canada and her home country Jamaica. In 2014 she was awarded the Order of Distinction in the Officer class for outstanding work in gender development. As Dr. Simms championed the rights of women, she will be remembered for her famous quote – “Feminism is when you can differentiate between yourself and a doormat”.
Fleurette Osbourne passed in Hamilton, Ontario on November 23, 2019 at age 92. Ms. Osbourne was a community activist and founding member and President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada.