Message from the CEO ARE WE THERE YET?
fisheries reminded me of her own challenges dealing with the predominantly white male fishing establishment. They were not ready for a strong Black businesswoman in their midst. I recall her applauding BBI publicly for supporting and “helping” her. I do not think she knew or realized just how good she was.
At midnight December 31, 2020, there was a collective sigh heard around the world. We hoped that as we crossed into the new year, the heavy burden that we faced during 2020 with COVID-19, and the elevation of violent anti-Black racism would all disappear suddenly. Of course, that didn’t happen. It took time to get here and it will take time to get back to some normalcy.
Grace will always be fondly remembered by BBI. I recall, even as she became an extremely sought-after keynote speaker, coach, mentor, and counsel to others, she still always had time for us. The last time she presented at a BBI summit, I had said in my vote of thanks, “I am not sure if I was in a Boardroom or a Cathedral.” She was that good a spiritual soul and that is the memory of her I will cherish forever.
2021 is special to BBI because it is our 25th Anniversary. A significant milestone of boldness, ambition, strong vision, and strategy for change in business and economic development.
So much has happened in 2020. We now know that COVID-19 is a critical health crisis with a catastrophic global economic impact. Every aspect of our lives is impacted by this pandemic and the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities is significantly amplified in Black communities. This was made worse by the devastating and heinous murder of George Floyd. We are still trying to recover, and yes, the recovery will take time.
We take great pride in the roadmap created by the BBI Task Force and passed on to us to implement in 1996. The five-member Task Force of the BBI, Grace White, Dolly Williams, Joan Jones, Tony Ross, and John Madison were pleased to table the report to the Ministers of the Economic Renewal Agency and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, dated, August 31, 1995.
The pandemic will disproportionately affect Black-owned small businesses for two critical reasons: they tend to face underlying issues that make it harder to operate and scale successfully; and they are more likely to be concentrated in industries most immediately affected such as accommodation, food services, personal services, and retail. Here is how you can help:
Sadly, 2020 took Grace White, the Chair of the Task Force, from us. We are still struggling with the very sad news and reflecting on how she would feel now about the initiative she helped to design, develop, and implement.
Become a supporter of the Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) whose vision is to combat anti-Black racism in Canada in response to the direct and systemic racism that has faced Black people in Canada since 1629, when six-year-old Olivier Le Jeune was brought to New France as a slave on a British ship.
Grace immigrated to Nova Scotia from Jamaica in the early 1970s and attended Saint Mary’s University. Our paths crossed one day while playing tennis at SMU and we became lifelong friends.
The new federal Black Entrepreneurship Program is a $221-million program designed to enable more Black entrepreneurs and businesses to successfully participate in the Canadian economy. This innovative program will provide the necessary tools, supports, loans and business connections to ensure a better percentage of Black-owned businesses thrive. The BBI is one of the organizations that advocated for this support and hope to play a significant role in the program.
She was the consummate businesswoman and a true entrepreneur. If you spent time in her company, under her spell, you would always be in awe of her drive, ambition, and work ethic. Our paths would cross at different stages from time to time over the years. She was my insurance consultant, and was very good at it; a no-nonsense businessperson whose counsel and guidance was always helpful. Although she led the Task Force that launched BBI, she demanded excellence and was not easy on us. During the community consultations, she wanted the very best for the Nova Scotian Black community and went to great pains to get it right. She wanted us to be “vibrant and dynamic” in every way.
To learn more about the Black Opportunity Fund, visit, blackopportunityfund.ca A luta continua. Respectfully,
She was a successful and highly accomplished business owner, who won many accolades and awards as one of the foremost Black and female businesspersons in all of Canada. Her company Canjam Trading was a powerhouse fishery and food wholesale business. The recent tension in the South Shore
BLACK to BUSINESS
S.I. Rustum Southwell BBI, Founding and Interim CEO
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Winter 2021
