official pardon

One of the advantages of looking up Canadian books that feature black protagonists is that I found out about Viola Desmond—a Nova Scotian woman who dared to sit in the whites-only section of a movie theatre in 1946.  She was jailed and fined for “tax evasion,” and died more than 40 years ago, but she recently received an official pardon from the province’s black lieutenant-governor, Mayann Francis.  You can read more about the pardon and apology here.  I think it’s interesting that Desmond ultimately left Canada and started a new life in New York, where she died at age 51.  Yesterday Kate and I watched Malcolm Gladwell on C-span—he’s another black Canadian who made a life here in the US.  When I did that Shel Silverstein tribute at the BPL, my co-teacher turned out to be a black Canadian woman (Alexis Jacobs).  I wonder how many of us there are altogether?  As we walked through Prospect Park, Kate and I reminisced about the two other black students we went to college with—one, Towa Beer, produced a gala benefit concert to raise AIDS awareness in Toronto; the other, Christian Teelucksingh, left Canada and now works as a producer for BET!  I’m hardly a “mover and shaker,” but I seriously doubt I’d be a published author today if I had stayed in Toronto.  I don’t know who I’d be if I hadn’t come to Brooklyn, but I’m glad I had the option to leave Canada—and that I have the option to return.  I received my renewed green card in the mail late last week; will I spend another ten years here in the US?  I don’t know.  I think so…I just know I’m lucky to have options.  I’m considering a job offer, so I’ve been thinking about the future and the importance of doing something meaningful with your time and talents.  Think I need a day of silence to figure it all out…