Rosemary Sadlier

Rosemary Sadlier
President Ontario Black History Society, author, doctoral candidate

Rosemary Sadlier has served since 1993 as the volunteer President of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS), the first provincial heritage organization in Canada focused on African-Canadian history. February was first proclaimed as Black History Month in Toronto in 1979 due to the efforts of the OBHS; under Sadlier's leadership, the OBHS obtained the formal proclamation of February as Black History Month at the Ontario level and initiated the national declaration in Canada - effective December, 1995.  The OBHS has also initiated the formal celebration of August 1st as Emancipation Day, obtained at the Provincial level, and pending nationally. Sadlier has represented the OBHS as a judge on the final selection committee of the Mathieu Da Costa Awards - the programme devised by Canadian Heritage to mark the OBHS inspired national declaration of February as Black History Month.  The OBHS worked to create an Underground Railroad exhibit, with Parks Canada and others, to be gifted to the OBHS for inclusion in their planned cultural centre/museum of African-Canadian history in Toronto.

You may be familiar with Sadlier from her participation in films such as Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada, or A Scattering of Seeds: the Mary Ann Shadd story.  On behalf of the OBHS, she has given Black history presentations across Ontario. Additionally, she has presented at summer institutes, libraries, forums and conferences in Toronto, Halifax, Kingston, Calgary, Ottawa, Memphis, Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago. She participated in a U.S.-Canadian Bi-National Charette and tour of the Underground Railroad. She has made representation to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and to the UN Rapporteur on Racism. She has received many awards including the William Peyton Hubbard Race Relations Award, a Woman for PACE Award, the Black Links Award, the Planet Africa Marcus Garvey Award, and she is a Kentucky Colonel!  Her work with the OBHS, in addition to her recent publications, including the best selling title, The Kids Book of Black Canadian History, have made her a frequent guest on national television and radio.  She is a doctoral candidate of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.