Black History Makers of Cornwall Panel

This program is drop-in. No registration required. Light refreshments will be available.

The Cornwall Public Library is thrilled to be marking Black History Month with a panel to highlight 3 incredible individuals who have left their mark on our community! Join moderator Stacey Ottley from CUREA as she speaks with Senator Bernadette Clement, City Councillor Fred Ngoundjo, and Citizen of the Year Lee Theodore. We'll explore their accomplishments, inspirations, future goals, and more.

Artwork highlighting body painting culture from Yafa Goawily will be on display.

The Panel

Senator Bernadette Clement
Bernadette is a lawyer and former city councillor who served as Mayor of Cornwall from 2018-2021 making her the first woman to be Mayor of Cornwall and the 1st Black woman to serve as mayor in Ontario. She was appointed to the Canadian Senate in June 2021.

City Councillor Fred Ngoundjo
Fred was elected to City Councill in October 2022 making him the 1st Black male councillor. He is a research scientist for the Government of Canada.

Citizen of the Year Lee Theodore
Lee was named Citizen of the Year in 2021 and awarded the Sunrise Rotary Club of Cornwall's Paul Harris Fellow Award for his many contributions. He has and continues to wear a variety of hats in and around Cornwall where he has been a resident for 20 years.

Moderator

Stacey Ottley
Stacey currently resides in Ottawa and was a resident of Cornwall between 2020 to 2021. There, she worked as an Ontario Public Servant where she was the Co-Chair of an anti-racism committee at her workplace. After witnessing the televised murder of George Floyd, Stacey and a few other local professionals decided to come together to become an important presence that addresses systemic racism in the community of Cornwall. In October 2020, Stacey became one of the Co-Founders of CUREA – Coalition for Unity, Respect, Equity/Equality for All, a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to combat systemic racism in Cornwall and the area. Stacey is currently employed in higher education where she coordinates support for students and is a member of an anti-racism action committee at her workplace.

CUREA-CURET
CUREA or Coalition for Unity, Respect & Equality for All is a racial justice and educational organization in Cornwall and SDG county. Their goal is to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Since the establishment of CUREA, Board Directors have participated in various activities such as delivering workshops in collaboration with community partners like the Cornwall Library, the Association des Femmes Immigrants de Cornwall, the African, Caribbean International Association of Eastern Ontario, Imam Vakily, Randstad Cornwall and many others. CUREA recently held its first fundraiser at the Christmas Market last year, whereby half of the proceeds were donated to the Agape Centre. CUREA also publishes a monthly editorial with the Standard-Freeholder on the last Friday of every month.