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Born in Barbados, Anne Clare Cools and her family moved to Montreal, Canada, when she was 13 years of age. She graduated with a degree in psychology and sociology from McGill University (Hawthorn, 2021).
In 1969, Ms. Cools participated in a protest at what is now Concordia University in Montreal. The peaceful protest was against the alleged treatment of six Black students. The peaceful protest turned south when the police tried to evict the protestors ending in a fire that caused millions in damages and 97 arrests, including Ms. Cools. Convicted, sentenced and fined, she served four months in prison. In 1981 she was granted a pardon (Hawthorn, 2021).
In the 1970s, Ms. Cools founded one of Canada’s first shelters for women and children of domestic abuse and became involved in politics. In 1984, she became the first Black Canadian to be named to the Senate. Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau named Ms. Cools to the Senate, representing Toronto Centre – “Ms. Cools has said she was proudest of her work on Parliament Hill as an advocate for the rights of children and fathers in divorce and separation cases” (Hawthorn, 2021, para. 11). She retired from the Senate in 2018 being known as the Dean of the Senate for having served more than 30 years and her extensive knowledge of parliamentary matters and procedures (Hawthorn, 2021).
Reference:
Hawthorn, T. (2021). In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-cools
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