Who is Stanley Grizzle?

Answer 1

I met Stanley Grizzle on the subway a few hours ago. I didn't know who he was until he told me he was the first black Canadian to run for provincial parliament, the first black citizenship judge and 5 other 'firsts' that got lost in the loud rumble of the subway car. I instantly fell in love with this friendly, unassuming 90 year-old, though it was hard to believe he was that old because there wasn't a wrinkle on his face, and apparently his hearing was better than mine!

I got to work and decided to Google him to see if it was really true that he had written a book, is invited to talk at schools about the adversities faced by a black man in the early decades and has made 25+ films and documentaries on the black struggle in Canada. It was all true! And I found out so much more that he didn't mention - his father's face was slashed by a rascist while he slept in his cab because he was the first black cabbie at the Toronto railway station in the 20's, yet Grizzle Sr. just got up and went back to work with in a few days.

Stanley Grizzle fought in WW2, was active in the first union of railway porters, has received the Order of Ontario, Order of Canada and a Distinction from Jamaica. And now there's a park named after Stanley Grizzle right next to Main Street Station.

I thought he was just a friendly old man travelling alone on the subway looking to have a conversation - little did I know I was talking to one of the most important members of the civil rights movement in Canada. I am truly honoured to have been approached by this thorough gentleman. My only regret is that I didn't get to speak to him for longer.