Union United Church and Montreal Community Contact among 50th Anniversary honorees
Contact Staff
On the evening of Saturday, October 5, a wide cross-section of Montrealers crammed The Living Room Banquet Hall in Mount Royal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black Coalition of Canada.
The evening bubbled with excitement and community upliftment as the packed hall of politicians, union leaders, community advocates together with business leaders, the spiritual community and everyday Montrealers joined in the celebration of an organization and its leader, Mr. Dan Philip, devoted themselves to the defense of human rights and social justice.
The work and impact of the BCQ and Philip on the social fabric of Montreal, Quebec and Canada was captured in a 15-minute video presentation that was part of the evening’s highlight.
The event was also an opportunity for the BCQ to recognize five individuals and four organizations with Mathieu DaCosta Awards.
Among those who received the highly prestigious award were
- Union United Church for more a century of spiritual leadership to our community
- Montreal Community CONTACT for close to 30 years of service to the community
- Le Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi de Cote des Neiges for its work in the integration of young people into the workforce and
- Le Carrefour de Liaison et d’Aide Multiethnique for its integration of new immigrants in society
- Elisa Libai, an accomplished business and information administrator,
- Yves Manseau, a homelessness advocate
- Former provincial minister Maka Kotto
- Jean Michel, an entrepreneur and community advocate and
- Germain Amoni, a community advocate.
Special recognition was afforded a contingent of ten members Movement Against Racism, Anti-semitism and Zenophobia, a human rights and social justice organization based in Belgium, who made the trip here to be part of this milestone celebration for the BCQ.
