The Calgary Black Chambers is a Canadian society of black professionals that promotes leadership capacity, advocates for social justice, and runs the Calgary Black Achievement Awards.
 | |
| Formation | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jon Cornish |
| Headquarters | Calgary |
Co-Founders | Jon Cornish, Chi Iliya-Ndule, Kene Ilochonwu, Chucks Okafor, Michael Lee Hing, Akwasi Antwi, Clarence Wynter and Charles Buchanan |
| Website | calgaryblackchambers |
Organization
editThe Calgary Black Chambers was started by Jon Cornish, who "rounded up a few dozen Black professionals to join him in his efforts to nurture Calgary's youth, knowing the struggles young Black Canadians can still face today." Jon's efforts were based on an idea from his wife, inspired by the late Manmeet Bhullar and his work in Calgary's Sikh youth community.[1]
Alongside founding board members Chi Iliya-Ndule, Kene Ilochonwu, Michael Lee Hing, Chucks Okafor, Akwasi Antwi, Clarence Wynter, and Charles Buchanan, the Calgary Black Chambers came to be in 2020. As of February 2022, had 200 members.[2]
Activities
editCalgary Black Chambers provides educational scholarships between $1,000 and $7,000 each annually.[1][3] It also provides mentorship to secondary students and[4] runs the Calgary Black Achievement Awards.[1][5]
In 2022, the Calgary Black Chambers received the Friends of Education Award from the Alberta School Board Association for the Soft Skills curriculum.[6] The same year, the organization called for an inquiry into the killing of Latjor Tuel.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c Underwood, Colleen (23 Feb 2022). "Calgary Black Chambers empowers high school students through mentorship program". CBC.
- ^ Gilligan, Melissa (1 June 2020). "Former Stampeder Jon Cornish never experienced racism in Calgary 'until last week' | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ Gilligan, Melissa (28 April 2021). "Calgary Black Chambers Society announces creation of new scholarship fund - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ Saelhof, Todd (1 June 2020). "Cornish sets up society to help mentor post-secondary students, foster diversity". calgarysun. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "Calgary Black Achievement Awards". News. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Friends of Education - ABSA 2022 Awards Celebration". Alberta School Board Association.
- ^ Franklin, Michael (2022-02-25). "Calgary-based Black advocacy group calls for inquiry into Latjor Tuel's death". Calgary. Retrieved 2022-02-26.