Ralph Thomas (activist)

Last updated
Ralph Thomas
ONB
Born1938 (age 8586)
OccupationActivist
SpouseJudith Meinert

Ralph Thomas ONB (born 1938) is a Canadian activist and former amateur boxer from Willow Grove, New Brunswick, Canada. [1] He was the president of Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education (PRUDE), a New Brunswick-based organization promoting inclusion. He is also a co-founder of the New Brunswick Black History Society, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Black history in New Brunswick. [2]

Contents

Early life

Thomas was born in 1938 [2] in Saint John [3] and was raised in Willow Grove, [4] a nearby settlement founded by Black refugees. [5] Thomas grew up at a time where racism and racial segregation existed in Saint John, and siblings of his who lived there were restricted from entering certain establishments such as the Admiral Beatty Hotel. [6]

Early career

For a large part of his career, Thomas worked in the automotive trade industry. [4] He also had a career in amateur boxing, in which he had a nickname "Tiger". [6]

In 1966, Thomas founded the New Brunswick Amateur Boxing Association and served as its president for 20 years. [7] He was also a 28-year long member of the board of directors of the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association. [8] In 1968, he created Golden Gloves, a boxing club based in Saint John. [2] [7] In 1976, Thomas was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame as well as the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. [7]

Activism

In 1997, Thomas became the president of PRUDE Inc. (Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education), [9] an advocacy group dedicated to assisting visible minorities and newcomers in Saint John. [6] [8] [10] Through his advocacy work, Thomas has educated young people in the province about Black history. [11]

In June 2010, [12] Thomas co-founded the New Brunswick Black History Society (NBBHS), [2] serving as the group's project coordinator. [13] [14] Through his advocacy work with other NBBHS and PRUDE Inc. members, Thomas has done several presentations educating others about Black history in New Brunswick. [14] Through his work with the NBBHS, Thomas has contributed towards changing geographical names tied to racism and slavery, [15] renaming them to honour historical Black figures in the province such as Abraham Beverley Walker. [16] [17]

Thomas has received multiple awards and accolades for his advocacy work, including the New Brunswick Human Rights Award in 2012, [2] [8] an honorary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick in 2019, [2] the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers in 2020, [18] and the Order of New Brunswick in 2021. [3]

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References

  1. Gill, Jordan (22 November 2020). "Historic Black settlement Willow Grove to be honoured by Canada Post". CBC News . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ralph 'Tiger' Thomas" (PDF). unb.ca. University of New Brunswick . Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 Government of New Brunswick, Canada (18 August 2010). "2021 Order of New Brunswick recipients". www2.gnb.ca. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Staff, Huddle (15 August 2021). "Retired Lifelong Saint Johners Would Live Nowhere Else But Here". Huddle. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  5. "Willow Grove, New Brunswick, and Amber Valley, Alberta stamps – launch of the 13th issue in Canada Post Black History Month series". NBM-MNB. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "N.B. anti-racism activist among those receiving Canada Day honours from GG". EverythingGP. The Canadian Press. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Ralph "Tiger" Thomas". NBSHF. New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 "Ralph "Tiger" Thomas". MyNewBrunswick. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. Government of New Brunswick, Canada (12 September 2012). "New Brunswick human rights awards presented". Government of New Brunswick . Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  10. "N.B. anti-racism activist among those receiving Canada Day honours from GG". National Post. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. "'The change is going to come': Saint John community activist finds hope in the younger generation". Atlantic. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  12. "About Us". NBBHS. New Brunswick Black History Society. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  13. Burnett, Ben (29 June 2020). "Black History Society Seeks Permanent Home". Country 94. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Before Willie O'Ree: New Brunswick's surprising black history contributions". CBC News . 10 March 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. "Push Underway To Change Racist Place Names In Saint John". 98.1 Charlotte FM. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  16. Chávez, Diana (9 February 2021). "Saint John council to rename public places, street names tied to slavery". CBC News . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  17. "New Brunswick government asked to remove 'Negro' from place names in province | CityNews Vancouver". vancouver.citynews.ca. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  18. "Mr. Ralph Thomas". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 4 November 2023.