Black Power movement in Montreal
Montreal's Black Power movement culminated in the aftermath of the Sir George Williams Affair—a student occupation that resulted in an estimated $2 million worth of damages and 97 arrests—which raised concerns of racism worldwide.
[2] Structural racism was prevalent during the turn of the century and prevented Montreal blacks from obtaining respectable work or adequate housing.
Led by Reverend Charles Este, the UUC sought to improve the social conditions for the black community through leadership and development.
In 1927, clergy members of the UUC founded the NCC, a charitable organisation that also sought to improve the social conditions for the black community.
The internationally broadening language of dissent towards colonization during the 1960s sparked an increased sense of activism among black intellectuals because it was seen as an opportunity to be heard.
The Cuban revolution inspired anti-colonial ideas in Montreal because Cuba's dissolution of trading ties with the United States demonstrated that a small nation could stand against a large imperial power.
[5] The influx of Caribbean students following the shift in immigration policies introduced anti-colonial ideas into Montreal's black community.
Following the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, Expression published an article advocating for violence in black activism onwards.
[15] Carmichael asserted that revolution was necessary to rebuild the social system that had previously oppressed blacks internationally through slavery and colonization.
In response to the Sir George William's University committee's failure to act on six accusations of racially prejudiced grading against Professor Perry Anderson, roughly 200 demonstrators—mostly White—peacefully occupied the computer centre at the school.
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), Montreal's second largest labour union, criticized the media for focusing on the material losses of the occupation instead of the racial issues in Canada.
Francophone intellectuals had previously neglected the black community in Montreal, however the events of the occupation changed their views on race in the city.
Many of these occupants had participated in the Sir George Williams Affair and they teamed up with the African Heritage Studies Association, founded by John Henrik Clarke, to denounce the lack of Black representation within the ASA.
The Thursday Night Rally was a weekly meeting initially created to discuss news concerning the arrests of the Sir George Williams Affair.
The meetings would often feature historian Roy States, screen films about the Black struggle, and discuss Africa as well as South America.
[3] The inaction of the university committee and the outcome of the Sir George Williams occupation publicly displayed the racial tensions in Canada.
In Montreal, the Sir George Williams affair revealed the covert racism in Canadian society and brought the Black community closer together.
[3] The events inspired black activists to begin challenging imperialism through the entire community rather than solely through the university system.
[3] The events of the Sir George William occupation also sparked anger in the Caribbean, where Roland Michener was denied entrance into the University of the West Indies on his "Good-will tour" in 1969.
