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Monday, February 19, 2024

Updates in Late February 2024.

 

Toronto grew to be bounded by the Humber River to the west and the Don River to the east by 1900. Many rivers and creeks in downtown were transformed into culverts and sewers. Toronto saw medical schools like Trinity Medical School and the Toronto School of Medicine (TSM). TSM became the medical faculty of the University of Toronto. There were emergency telephone call boxes linked to a central dispatcher. There were bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles that shifted the police from walking the beat to fast reaction to reported incidents, including handling automobile traffic. By the 20th century, Toronto's business center moved west of the historic Town of York site. A new downtown to the west of Younge and King Streets was built. After the new downtown was heavily destroyed in the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, it was quickly rebuilt with new taller buildings. There was a single Union Station built. There was the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway. Businesses grow. In 1923, two researchers at the University of Toronto, J.J.R. Macleod (1876–1935) and Frederick Banting (1891–1941), shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their 1921 discovery of insulin, putting Toronto on the world map of advanced science.


From 1926 to 1936, Toronto lawyer, financier, and practical joker Charles Vance Millar created the Great Stork Derby, a contest in which women had to give birth to the most babies within a ten-year period after his death, to qualify for an unusual bequest in his will for a residue of his significant estate. During World War II, Toronto became a major center for Canada's military. The Exhibition Place was taken over for military training and deployment. The Island Airport was taken over for training of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Civilian manufacturing companies, such as Inglis, were converted to wartime production of armaments. At Malton Airport and Downsview Airport, new aviation factories built many fighters and bombers to be used in Europe. After World War II, a continuous influx of newcomers from around the world and Canadians from Atlantic Canada contributed to the growth of Toronto. The large numbers of new Canadians helped Toronto's population swell to over one million by 1951, and double again to over two million, by 1971. The demographics of Toronto changed as a result also, as many immigrants were from countries other than the United Kingdom. The ethnic diversity grew and saw the development of enclaves such as Little Italy, Little Portugal, and two new Chinatowns. In 1967, the first "Caribana" festival was held celebrating the culture of the West Indies.


The provincial government created the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, a metropolitan government that incorporated numerous local municipalities in 1954. The Metro Toronto government took over the construction and maintenance of region-wide infrastructure, building water treatment plants, roads, public transit, and expressways, to facilitate the growth of the suburbs. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel swept through Toronto, causing significant flooding; 81 people were killed. As a result, building on floodplains was banned, new flood control works such as dams and flood channels were built, and the lands of floodplains were cleared of buildings, and conserved as parklands and conservation areas.


In 1954, the original stretch of the subway was completed from Union to Eglinton stations on the Yonge line (later numbered as Line 1). This was followed by the construction of the Bloor-Danforth and University Avenue subways, connecting the core to the suburbs to the east and west. The Metro Government built the Gardiner Expressway and the DVP expressways in the late 1950s and early 1960s but plans to build a large network of expressways throughout the city died in 1971 with the cancellation of the Spadina Expressway. The new "urban renewal" movement made its influence felt in Toronto. Large areas, deemed "slums", were cleared. This included the areas of Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, and Alexandria Park. The streets and small homes were replaced by mega-blocks with limited streets and apartment buildings. The experiment in social housing would improve the number of affordable units available, at the expense of a large increase in the budgets of Metro and Toronto to maintain the buildings. By the 2000s, Toronto would be in serious arrears on maintenance, and in the 2000s, Toronto started to dismantle the large projects and replace them with designs more resembling regular neighborhoods. 



During the 1970s, the population of Toronto continued to grow and surpassed that of Montreal. In 1971 the populations of the respective Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) for Toronto and Montreal stood at 2.7 million and 2.6 million. By 1981, Toronto had surpassed Montreal with a population of 3 million versus 2.8 million for Montreal. Factors for the growth of Toronto over Montreal included strong immigration, increasingly by Asians and people of African descent, the increasing size of the auto industry in Southern Ontario, due to the signing of the Auto Pact with the US in 1965, a calmer political environment (Quebec experienced two referendums on separation during these years, one in 1980 and the other in 1995), and lower personal income taxes than in Quebec. By the 1970's, there were more institutions built like new Toronto City Hall was opened; the Eaton Centre shopping and office complex; four new bank towers were built at the intersection of Bay and King Streets, the "MINT corners" and new towers along University Avenue. The new "urban renewal" movement made its influence felt in Toronto. Large areas, deemed "slums", were cleared. This included the areas of Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, and Alexandria Park. The streets and small homes were replaced by mega-blocks with limited streets and apartment buildings. The experiment in social housing would improve the number of affordable units available, at the expense of a large increase in the budgets of Metro and Toronto to maintain the buildings. By the 2000s, Toronto would be in serious arrears on maintenance, and in the 2000s, Toronto has started to dismantle the large projects and replace them with designs more resembling regular neighborhoods.



Toronto had been the junior partner in Canadian business to Montreal historically. This changed as Toronto grew rapidly after World War II. Another factor was the growing nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly with the success of the Parti Québécois in 1976, which systematically alienated Anglophone businesses. By 1995, Toronto controlled 48% of Canada's financial assets and 44% of the non-financial corporate assets, compared to 28% and 22% by Montreal. In the 1990s, Toronto was affected by the country-wide recession. As well, the senior-level governments of Canada and Ontario downloaded the delivery of services. The Ontario government transferred a section of the Queen Elizabeth Way to the Metro Gardiner Expressway, canceled the Eglinton subway line, and trimmed transit, housing, and welfare subsidies. The Canadian government formed independent agencies to manage the Toronto International Airport and the Toronto Harbour; the latter particularly controversial to Toronto as Toronto City Council wanted to take over the harbor as part of waterfront revitalization efforts. As well, the Canadian government eliminated its public housing programs. These changes would lead to budget crises for the Toronto government of the 2000s.



On January 1, 1998, Toronto was greatly enlarged, not through traditional annexations, but as an amalgamation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities; East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the Government of Ontario and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "megacity") replacing all six governments.


The merger was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the Progressive Conservative provincial government under Mike Harris. The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a referendum in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation. However, as the referendum had little to no legal effect, the Harris government could thus legally ignore the results of the referendum and did so in April when it tabled the City of Toronto Act. Both opposition parties held a filibuster in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given the PCO's majority.


North York mayor Mel Lastman became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd Mayor of Toronto, with his electoral victory. Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January Blizzard of 1999, dumped 118 cm of snow and effectively immobilized the city He called in the Canadian Army to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fueled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources.  This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given the PCO's majority.  

According to 2004 United Nations report, Toronto has the second-highest proportion of immigrants in the world, after Miami, Florida. Almost half of Toronto's residents were born outside Canada. The resulting cultural diversity is reflected in the numerous ethnic neighborhoods of the city. The proliferation of shops and restaurants derived from cultures around the world makes the city one of the most exciting places in the world to visit. Moreover, the relative tranquility that mediates between such diverse populations is a testament to the perceived tolerant character of Canadian society. Official photo of world leaders at the 2010 G20 Toronto summit. Toronto hosted the G20 summit on June 26–27, 2010, but it was not without protests. The protests were met with one of the most expensive temporary security operations seen in Canada and resulted in the largest mass arrests in Canadian history. The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A study by Toronto Metropolitan University showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared to 131,767 in Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto. Is their racism and oppression in Toronto? Yes. The common myth is that Canada has no racism. Racism and all forms of oppression in general exist worldwide. On March 23, 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Toronto by Mayor John Tory, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This came six days after Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province, which included the prohibition of all public events of over 50 people (later reduced to 5 people on March 28), closure of bars and restaurants (with the exception that restaurants may continue to provide takeout and delivery services) as well as libraries, theatres, cinemas, schools, and daycares.



Opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison. It is a fact that Navalny survived many assassination attempts. It is clear that we must know all of the facts, but blood is on Putin's hands directly and indirectly. Putin is the one who is a dictator, who is a murderer, who controls the prison system that once housed Navalny, and who contradicts the Christian faith with his deeds. Putin is a disgrace to the Russian people who desire freedom and justice. Ukraine is fighting for its survival in self-defense and many far-right people and some phony leftists support Putin. A dictator like Putin is supported and respected by Tucker Carlson and others. Putin suppresses dissent and protest in Russia, restricts religious liberty rights, and has been involved in suppressing independent media in Russia for years. More than 400 people have been detained across Russia for attending vigils and rallies for Navalny. This is fascism from Putin. It shows that Putin doesn't care about the Russian people or human freedom. Putin only cares about Putin. There is footage of the arrests at St. Petersburg, and we still don't know how Navalny died. Many people blame Russia for his death. We need to make a distinction between freedom-loving Russian people and Putin including his puppets who promote imperialism, suppression of democracy, and totalitarianism in Russia. Now, it is important to note that Navalny is not a perfect person, and I don't agree with him on many issues. Navalny doesn't deserve to die in that fashion, but it is important to disagree with some of his views when he's wrong too. Navalny was part of the far right when he came into politics by being part of the free market Yabloko Party and its Union of Right Forces in 2000. He co-founded the anti-immigrant group called the National Russian Liberation Movement. In 2021, Amnesty International temporarily stripped Navalny of the designation of "prisoner of conscience" for him advocating racial killings of people from Central Asia and the Caucasus, whom he used the racist slur to call them "cockroaches." So, Navalny was part of the capitalist oligarchy who wanted to ally more with America for political purposes. Therefore, I don't agree with Navalny's punishment in prison that led to his death (and I don't agree with the assassination attempts against him), but I disagree with his political views. MAGA extremists are heavily silent on Navalny either way because many of them support the tyrant of Putin. The solution in Russia is not to make Russia a puppet state of Western imperialism. It is not to allow Russia to invade all of Europe. Russia should be free from Putin to be truly an independent nation along with Ukraine being free from Russian invasion too. That is the wise independent policy that we all must embrace. 



Now, it is time to be more in-depth about this story. The Millie Woodson Turner Home site was owned by ancestors almost 200 years ago and is found in a 1.8-acre land area near the areas of Capron and Courtland, Southampton County, Virginia. It was a farmstead lived by African Americans and Nottoway tribal members from 1852 to 1953. The land was part of the Nottoway tribal reservation land formed during the colonial era after the Iroquoian-speaking Nottoway people made a treaty with the officials of the English crown in 1714 after the Tuscarora War. As stipulated in these treaties, the Nottoway lands were surveyed and two reservations were established around their Native American towns, in the landscape of what is today, Southampton County. Later, the reservations were divided among the resident Nottoway human beings from around 1830 to 1880, and “allotment” farms of extended Native families were developed as private property homesteads.


After a 1953 chancery court-ordered auction of the land, the site left possession of Nottoway descendants, meaning before then the Millie Woodson-Turner Home Site had an uninterrupted indigenous tenancy, making it the only Iroquoian reservation site documented (to date) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many researchers found artifacts on the land. VDHR chief curator Laura Galke analyzed artifacts found from the Millie Woodson-Turner Home Site. The land is near agricultural land (filled with crops like corn, soybean, cotton, peanuts, and small grain). It has trees and other vegetation. My ancestors lived in the land from 1852 to 1952 being farmers, workers, and family members. Archaeologists and researchers found a chimney all on the property. My ancestor Millie Woodson was born in ca. 1831 and her grandmother was the Nottoway human being Winifred Woodson-Williams. Millie's mother was Patsy Woodson. Millie applied for and received her allotment of the land in 1852-1853 by order of Virginia's General Assembly. Close to the American Civil War, Millie Woodson built a frame cottage on the land. Many of her relatives had households around the land like the families of Artis, Bozeman, Crocker, Scholar, and Turner (who were Native Americans and African Americans). Millie married an African American freeman named Morefield Hurst, and they keep a small farm on the land raising 10 children. Later, Millie Woodson Turner's daughter Susanna Turner (b. 1865) controlled the farm's day-to-day operations. Susanna Turner loved to make apple turnovers. Susanna Turner married Rev. James Thompson Claud (her mother was my 4th great-grandmother and former slave Sarah Claud). James Thompson Claud was a day laborer and farmer growing corn, peas, and potatoes, and he raised pigs. Other of the Nottoway's tribal land was divided among Milie's siblings and their cousins like Edwin D. Turner Sr. By 1900, Susanna Claud’s family owned several tracts in the neighborhood. William Turner, Susanna’s brother, neighbored the allotment home site. He, along with his wife Romine and eight children, looked after his elderly parents, Millie Woodson-Turner and Morefield Hurst, until they died in the 1910s. Susanna Claud continued on the family farm, with assistance from her adult male children and her son‐in‐law. Susanna’s husband James Thompson Claude died in 1926, and through the 1920s and 1930s, Susanna’s children became more engaged in farming and managing family affairs. Many children and grandchildren of Millie Woodson Turner moved from Southampton County, Virginia to work in the urban centers of Norfolk, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia, and other cities. Some stayed in Southampton County to farm cotton and peanuts like Arthur Claud, Joshua Claud, and Nannie Claud Nickens. By the mid-1940's, my 3rd great grandmother Susanna Turner became sick and was taken care of by her son and my 2nd great-grandfather Arthur Claud across the Nottoway River. Mysteriously, the old family house was burned to the ground. The property was soon sold for debt and unpaid taxes. Susanna Turner Claud, the daughter of Millie Woodson-Turner, passed away in 1949. In 1952, one of Notttoway headman Edwin D. Turner’s granddaughters, Rosa Ellen Sykes, sold her life interests in two Indian Town Road reservation allotment tracts to her daughter. Another relative contested the transfer and, in 1953, a chancery court ordered the property be auctioned, and the monies arising from the sale divided in proportion to the descendants from the original allottee. As Edwin Turner, Jr. had married Mattie Claud (daughter of Susanna Turner Claud), their children and descendants were identified in the suit. So, William Turner and Bessire Turner (Harris), who were my cousins, lived with Susanna Turner when their parents moved to Portsmouth. They were viewed as interested parties. The court traced the Nottoway descendants in Southampton, as well as Susanna’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Philadelphia, for the monetary divisions from the auction. Today, the site of the Woodson-Turner reservation allotment is archaeological, which includes the remains of several reservation homesteads. Now, you know the story about my ancestors and their land in Southampton County, Virginia. 


Also, it is important to salute the African American contributions to the world along with the contributions of all people in the black African Diaspora too. Our black people have been through a lot to be black inventors, scholars, athletes, musicians, judges, lawyers, teachers, authors, directors, and other legendary, iconic human beings. We stand on the foundation that our black ancestors built and without us black people, no human alive would be born on this Earth. Therefore, the principle of Black being always Beautiful is the truth that I will always embrace forever and ever. When we praise our accomplishments as black history, we don't advocate hatred of other people. What we will do is we won't view ourselves as inferior though. We are blessed, gifted, smart, and beautiful black people with strength, dignity, and creativity by birth. Being black is a joy, and I honor my black African heritage always forever and ever. 





Sister Danai Gurira she is 46 years old. She was born in Grinnell, Iowa to Josephine Gurira, a college librarian, and Roger Gurira, a tenured professor in the Department of Chemistry at Grinnell College. Both parents later joined the staff of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She was born to Zimbabwean parents. She is the youngest of four siblings who are Shingai, Choni, and Tare. Gurira lived in Grinnell until December 1983. This was the time when she lived in the capital of Zimbabwe Harare. She attended high school at Dominican Convent High School. Then, she studied at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. Gurira earned a Master of Fien Arts in acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Gurira taught playwriting and acting in Liberia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. She performed in the production of Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls Wo Have Considered Suicide/ When the The Rainbow is Enuf." Gurira has been in theater plays for years. She is also an expert playwright who has been commissioned by Yale Repertory Theater, Center Theater Group, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Court. Gurira's play Eclipsed in 2015 was about the Liberian civil war with Lupita Nyong'o. Gurira has been on TV shows like Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Treme from HBO, and The Walking Dead. She played Afeni Shakur in the film All Eyez on Me about Tupac Shakur's life. She was in Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Avengers: Endgame, and other films. She has helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, she took up against HIV/AIDS in Africa plus worldwide, and she endorses gender equality plus women's rights. Gurira is multilingual and can speak French, Shona, basic Xhosa, and English. She lives in Los Angeles and spends time in New York City being a Christian.


Ory Okolloh is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger. She is the Director of Investments at Omidyar Network. She was formerly the Policy for Policy Manager for Africa with Google. In 2007, Okolloh co-created Ushahidi (which is an open-source software application to collate and map data). Ushahidi is the Swahili word for testimony, closely related to the word of shahidi meaning witness. She earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2005. She promoted the parliamentary watchdog site Mzalendo to increase government accountability by systematically recording bills, speeches, MPs, standing orders, etc. She promotes lower Internet access costs and desires to improve Kenya in many ways. 



By Timothy


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