Getting a seat at the table – and using it
By Nigel Gordijk Sunday, May 25, 2025
In April, community leaders of all ages took part in a “Lunch and Politics” discussion in Waterloo Region, with the goal of increasing civic and political engagement among the local Black community.
In 2022, Colleen James became the first Black person to be elected to Region of Waterloo council in its five-decade history. Photo: Nigel Gordijk
According to the 2021 census, there has been a significant growth in Waterloo Region’s Black population, but that increase is not reflected in local political representation.
In late April, nearly 100 people attended “Lunch in Politics” for an afternoon of moderated discussions about increasing political engagement within the local African, Caribbean, and Black community. The event, which was held in the Region of Waterloo council chamber, was co-hosted by Regional Councillor Colleen James, Run4OfficeWR, and Operation Black Vote Canada, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Lannois Carroll-Woolery, a Run4OfficeWR Program Administrator, shared startling data about how difficult it is to get people to step forward as candidates for elected office.
“Some years ago, we learned that if you ask a white male to run for political office, they often will put up their hands right away and say, ‘Yes, I will, of course.’ If you ask a white female, the statistics say you have to ask them seven times before they agree to run. Well, those statistics are worse with the African, Caribbean and Black population, which means we may have to ask persons 70 times before they agree to run. But we are just as talented, just as knowledgeable, just as committed as those other individuals, and we know we have leaders in our community.”
James is one of those leaders, and in 2022, she became the first Black person elected to Region of Waterloo council. Now that she has a seat at the horseshoe – the nickname for the curved space where council members sit – she feels obliged to act as a catalyst so that others can follow her.
“We sometimes have to work twice as hard, but when we get there, what we do is not just for ourselves, but for community,” she said. “Many years ago, I worked in this building as a research assistant to Regional council. There were decisions being made at the time, and I was like, there’s a voice and a presence that’s not there. When I left in 2019, I walked around this horseshoe and I looked at all the pictures. I said to myself, I’m going to come back and get my picture on this wall.”
She added, “It’s not about us. It’s about the generations that come after us and knowing that there’s been a path that’s been paved.”
Young future leaders participated in a “Youth and Politics” discussion, moderated by Run4OfficeWR. The student panellists discussed underrepresentation, the need for more youth involvement in civic engagement, and challenges faced by Black youth in politics.
Second-year Wilfrid Laurier University studentEugene Anekwe observed, “We’re underrepresented, without question, especially on the youth level. It’s sometimes discouraging to see how few Black youths are engaged in politics, engaged in government. A lot of people in my community say, ’Oh, I don’t do politics. I don’t get involved in that kind of thing,’ and I’ll say, ’You might not do politics, but politics does you. It happily, does you, every day.’ It’s critically important to get more people involved, for more people to be engaged. No one is going to speak up for us if we don’t do it ourselves. That’s why I started Black Future Lawyers Waterloo Region, to be able to get youth more engaged.”
Avri Jeffcott said that she’s grateful for the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Taylor and Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, a former Member of Provincial Parliament. “Being a Black student at the University of Waterloo, I’ve been lucky enough to have quite incredible professors that really opened doors. I’ve been able to explore politics, both in the theoretical way and in application, and that has been able to shape how I address politics from when I was younger, which was a bit messy – a lot of passion, but kind of disorganized – to now, knowing where I have my strengths, in political engagement and political discourse.”
James moderated a politics discussion panel featuring political leaders, most of whom currently hold elected positions. They shared their motivations and challenges in politics, emphasizing the need for inclusive leadership and community engagement.
It was a historical lack of representation that drew Hans Roach into running for a seat on the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.
“In 50 years, there was not one Black principal, vice-principal, or program director,” he said. “It was the same way it was for me when I walked into Saint David School in 1972, and there had been no change, so, that was one of my goals. It was also a natural progression, then, to get into to municipal politics. I’m proud to say I’m the first person of colour ever elected in the City of Waterloo.”
When Khadijah Haliru first moved to the small town of Ingersoll and opened her skincare boutique, the Nigerian-born businesswoman was cautious about standing out in a predominantly white community. In the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, she was shocked at the level of racism that came to the surface. “I’m like, ’I cannot believe what I’m hearing in this town. I can’t believe that I live here,’” she recalled. “I felt really scared. After that, I toned down, and I just stopped talking.”
That’s why she was surprised when she was asked to run for County of Oxford council. “I realized that the one job I have to do in this position is to make every Black person feel good, every Black person feel seen and heard, and the credibility that will bring to the table will pave the way in the future for any Black person running. I recently did the same when the NDP approached me to run in Oxford, and I said, why not? I know not going to win, but guess what? I want everybody, the whole county, to hear who we are, hear our story, and understand that we are capable, too. So, even if I don’t win, it paves the way for the next person.”
Maedith Radlein is a Waterloo Region District School Board trustee, and in November 2024, she was elected as its chair. As a mother of two young boys, she moved to the area from Jamaica almost 40 years ago. “When my application was successful to become a teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board, it was a time when I was the only (Black teacher). Soon after becoming a teacher, I joined the teachers’ union, and my first advocacy was about books in the library, because there were absolutely no children’s books that had any person of colour in it. Right now, we take things like that for granted, but it was not always so.”
During her time as a leader in the local education community, she has made her presence felt.
“One of the things that I find most satisfying on my journey was when I chaired the committee that introduced the board’s first equity policy in 2006, which led to the hiring of equity officers. Now, we are a board that has Black Brilliance events, that has anti-Black racism system navigators, and which actively works to enhance the Black presence and create Black joy.”
“I got very upset about two, three years ago when we had all this discussion about no longer teaching about racism in schools, no longer teaching Canadian history that spoke about the oppression of Indigenous peoples, just the kind of dialogue that we hear happening south of the border right now. And I thought, I cannot allow that narrative to be the dominant narrative. I ran down to City Hall and registered to run (for the school board), so here I am.”
Radlein cautioned, “I don’t believe being at the table is enough. There are lots of people sitting at the table doing nothing. If you are going to be at the table, it needs to be because you believe in the power of community.”
Civic engagement wasn’t high on Mississauga Councillor Martin Reid’s list of priorities when he was a University of Waterloo student, he admitted.
“I just played football and then spent the rest of the year getting my grades up. After Waterloo, I did my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy counselling, got into social work, and was working at a drop-in centre in the Mississauga area.”
During that period, Reid was inspired by local community activist and city councillor Pat Sado.
“When our non-profit needed money, she would be the one who’d show up with a cheque from developers, or would be doing a fundraiser. I was like, I could see myself doing that. I love connecting, I loved the relationship building that she was doing.”
Reid was part of former Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Black caucus. Crombie “was addressing a lot of things that were happening in the world, in this racial awakening. In that group of super smart, talented, gifted Black people, we were discussing what we should to do in the city, and someone mentioned that ‘Pat Sado is retiring, and Martin should run because that is his ward’. So I said, okay, let’s do it.”
Earlier in the day, at the “Lunch and Politics” reception, Reid mentioned that he had bumped into Dr. Christopher Taylor from his alma mater. “He said, ’You don’t know me, but I know you because my mother lives in your ward.”
Reid became emotional and his voice faltered as he recalled, “As soon as he told me, I remembered exactly the day that I was knocking on doors, and a Black lady opened the door and she said, ’I never thought I’d see the day someone that looks like me would be running for election in this area.’”
He added that he feels “a sense of gratitude looking at a picture with ‘Councillor’ in front of my name.’”
City of Kitchener facilitator Ismail Mohamed is also a community organizer. He has run twice, in 2022 and 2025, as the Ontario Liberal Party’s candidate for Kitchener South-Hespeler. He said, “While I may not hold an elected office yet, I know that leadership is not about titles. It’s about service commitment and showing up for your community every single day. Our community deserves to see itself reflected in every level of government. When I decided to run, I thought about those who paved the way long before all of us. We have to look up to our wisdom. There are people who paved the way, and every day that we drive through those roads, we make it better for the next generation.”
“The African and Caribbean and Black community in Waterloo Region is growing stronger every year. We are a business owners, creating jobs. We are educators, shaping young minds. We are health care workers, activists, artists and innovators, shaping the future for the Region in every sector. We know that when we are not at the table, decisions are made without us and sometimes against us. We belong, not just in the audience, but on the ballot, not just participating, but leading. Our collective story is still being written, and every time one of us steps forward to run for office, to start a business, to mentor youth, to organize for change, we’re adding another chapter of Black excellence, Black resilience and Black leadership in our Canadian story.”
“Let’s continue to show up. Let’s continue to lead. Let’s continue to build a future where the next generation doesn’t have to fight for a seat at the table because they’ll already be sitting at the head of it.”