Year: 2014
Location: Edmonton
Profile: “Sir George is the bastion of racism”
British-trained Brian Alleyne arrived in Canada as a Landed Immigrant in 1969, only to discover that none of his medical / technical credentials were recognized – unlike the experience of his fellow Britishers; he was forced to begin postsecondary studies again. At Sir George Williams University, Alleyne found brilliant Caribbean students experiencing the same plight of constant and deliberate failing grades. Their racialized experience led to the seizure of university property.
Alleyne developed his career in Epidemiology and was able to impact critical health testing for the Cree Nation in Quebec. He described his work being used in legal cases. He moved to Alberta and became the first provincial Epidemiologist. He supervised many technical teams to conduct Occupational Health & Safety research in Alberta’s meatpacking plants.
An avid community supporter, Alleyne was also actively engaged with several community organizations. He served as President of CARIWEST for several years, and made significant contributions to developing the organization’s bylaws, philosophy and management. His strategies encouraged many other communities (eg Germans) to engage with the Cariwest carnival traditions.
Keywords: Canadian immigrants; Canadian Universities – Students’ Protests; Cariwest – Organization; Carnival and Emancipation; Carnival and African Heritage; Carnival and Oppression; Carnival – Post-slavery; Credentials recognition; Cultural Integration; Discrimination – Employment; Discrimination -Education; Foreign nationals, Canada; Healthcare – Consulting; Indigenous – Health testing; Meat Packing Plants – Alberta; Occupational Health & Safety; Protest in Culture; Racism
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See also: Black Communities in Alberta; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta