Christiana Abraham, a professor in Communication Studies, spotlights the important work of Montreal activist Brenda Dash, who passed away on Nov. 29, at the age of 78.
Brenda Dash was a student leader of the 1969 student occupation of Sir George Williams University, and an activist with a commitment to build a social and political Black consciousness in Canada and the Black diaspora.
Born and raised in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, a predominantly Black community, by parents who had immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago, Dash was arrested along with 96 others for participating in the 1969 student protest at the Sir George Williams University. She went on to play a prominent role in the racial politics of Montreal and in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s by highlighting the plight of Canada's Black population through speaking tours in Canada and the US. She also participated in the founding of the Black community newspaper Uhuru, an important alternative source of news that circulated in Canada and the Black diaspora.
Learn more about Brenda Dash.