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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
25. http://urbanalliance.ca/2015/08/04/uarr-40th-anniversity-celebration-resisting-racism-past-present-and-future/


26. http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/features/missingpages/unit8/u8p170.htm
25. http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/features/missingpages/unit8/u8p170.htm


27. "Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges", 1939-40.
26. "Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges", 1939-40.


==Further reading==
==Further reading==

Revision as of 19:39, 24 September 2015

  • Comment: I have rolled back two edits here. Please follow the advise given by Onel5969 in his 8 September review. -- Sam Sailor Talk! 08:51, 21 September 2015 (UTC)
Wilson A. Head
Born(1914-09-30)September 30, 1914
Milner, Georgia
United States
DiedOctober 9, 1993(1993-10-09) (aged 79)
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Resting placeKnox United Church
Agincourt, Ontario
Canada
NationalityAmerican
Canadian from 1965
Occupation(s)Sociologist, professor

Wilson A. Head (September 30, 1914–October 9, 1993) was an American/Canadian sociologist and community planner known for his work on race relations and human rights in the United States, Canada and other parts of the world.[1]

Biography

Wilson A. Head was born on September 30, 1914 in Milner, Georgia. He "was the son of a Georgia sharecropper, the eldest of five children".[2] "He grew up poor in the small black community of Milner, near Atlanta; his father died when he was 10, but his mother stressed the importance of education, telling him he would have to be twice as smart as whites to compete".[3] Dr. Head graduated from Booker T. Washington High School ln 1933 and from Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science in Education, by which time he had been named in Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges (27). In his memoirs, A Life on the Edge: Experiences in Black and White in North America,[4] Dr. Head describes the poverty and injustices to which Black people in the "Deep South" were subjected, and which he experienced in his youth. In the 1930s, Dr. Head took part in a series of "sit-ins" on restaurants and bars, and protested against barbers, shop keepers, and movie house owners who would not serve blacks years before the civil rights movement began.[2][5] He helped to desegregate a golf course in Windsor.[5]

He worked at times with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[2] He was director of community development and community organization at Flanner House in Indianapolis, which served poor and indigent Black people.[2] "In 1981, then president of the National Black Coalition of Canada,[6][7] he testified before the Joint House Senate Committee on the Canadian Constitution".[8] He was on the executive of The Metro Committee on Race Relations and Policing.[9]

Dr. Head moved to Windsor, Canada in 1959 "to get my children away from a racist society".[6] In the US, he had been director of Chicago's Parkway Community House, and director of the state of Ohio's Juvenile Diagnostic Centre. When he came to Canada, he became the executive Director of the Windsor Group Therapy Project. In 1965 he became the Director of Research and Planning for the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto.[10]

"He lectured in Social Work at the University of Windsor, 1960-1964, University of Michigan, 1962-1964, Wayne State University, 1963-1965 and Sir Williams College, Chicago, 1961-1964. He was involved with a number of organizations including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association of Toronto as vice-president, 1967, National Welfare Council founding member and National Black Coalition of Canada, chairman and president, 1977-1982. Dr. Head became the first chairman of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at Atkinson College, York University".[11]

In 1988 Dr. Head was asked to participate in the Donald Marshall Inquiry Commission in Nova Scotia.[5] Among his numerous articles and research studies, most prominent are The Black Presence in the Canadian Mosaic",[12] and Discrimination Against Blacks in Nova Scotia: The Criminal Justice System.[13]

Dr. Head died of cancer of the prostate in 1993.[6][3] His ashes are encrypted at Knox United Church, Agincourt, Ontario.

Ideology

Wilson was raised in the Baptist Church, but became a member of the Quakers (Society of Friends) in the 1940s.[2] The Quakers supported him in his own convictions of pacifism, egalitarianism, and conscientious objection to military service.[2][3] He was seen as a "moderate" in his views on combating racism.[14] [7][15][16] His "quiet, reasonable style has become his hallmark".[15] He was, however, an "outspoken critic of Metro police"[6], citing racial profiling in their practices.[6][17][18][19] Dr. Head was also very active in the war on poverty in Canada.[20][21][8]

Legacies

Founding chairman, Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR), Toronto, Ontario, still today a strong advocacy voice.[6][2][7]

Founded and was first president of, the National Black Coalition of Canada, 1978, which dissolved in 1982, because, he said, "blacks were too busy fighting blacks".[6][3]

Autobiography, Life on the Edge: Experiences in "Black and White" in North America, by Wilson A. Head, 1993, includes a forward by the late Honourable Lincoln Alexander, and an Epilogue by Madame Rosalie Silberman Abella.[4]

Founding Chairperson of the School of Social Work, York University, Downsview, Ontario, 1966.[2]

A scholarship in Dr. Wilson Head's name has been set up at York University for students who demonstrate a particular interest in human rights, race relations and/or peace.[15]

Education

1. Booker T. Washington High School, Atlanta, Georgia, 1933. 2. Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Sociology, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1940.[3] 3. University of Georgia, Master's degree in Social Work, 1942.[3] 4. Ohio State University, doctoral degree in Sociology, Adult Education, and Social Psychology, 1958.[3]

Honors/Awards

  • Named in Who's Who in Black Canada 2: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada: A Contemporary Directory.[22]
  • Harry Jerome Award, 1988 for community service.[23][24]
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, York University, Downsview, Ontario 1982.[6]
  • Memorial Award for Outstanding Work in Antiracism, Peace and Human Rights, Atkinson College, York University, Downsview, Ontario.[22]

Works

Head authored and coauthored numerous research studies and articles, the more notable of which are:

  • (1969) Poverty: A Major Issue Confronting Canadians
  • (1975) The Black Presence in the Canadian Mosaic
  • (1980) Adaptation of Immigrants in Metro Toronto: Perceptions of Ethnic and Racial Discrimination
  • (1981) Adaptation of Immigrants: Perceptions of Ethnic and Racial Discrimination
  • (1989) Discrimination Against Blacks in Nova Scotia: The Criminal Justice System

References

25. http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/features/missingpages/unit8/u8p170.htm

26. "Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges", 1939-40.

Further reading

Books and articles
  • Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Sept. 11, 1986, page H.9. "Founding president re-elected head of Urban Alliance".
  • Wilson A. Head, FONDS, MG 31, D 148, Finding Aid No. 1458. "Administrative History/Biographical Sketch". Archives Canada.
Primary sources
  • York University, Atkinson College, Downsview, Ontario, Canada. On permanent display Ross Building, 8th floor.
  1. ^ Francis J. Turner (7 September 2005). Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. pp. 168–. ISBN 978-0-88920-436-2.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work, by Francis J. Turner, p. 168. Social service Canada Encyclopedias, 2005. Wilfred Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2I 3C5, www.wlupress.wlu.ca
  3. ^ a b c d e f g The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ont, Canada. Oct. 8, 1993: A.20. OBITUARY: "Wilson Head led struggle in Canada for racial justice".
  4. ^ a b Life on the Edge : Experiences in Black and White in North America : Memoirs of Wilson Head. Publisher: Dr. Wilson Head Institute, Toronto , 1995, ISBN:0-9680066-0-4.
  5. ^ a b c Wilson Head's Life on the Edge left lasting impact: Daily News Retrieved from htp://search.proquest.com/docview/342779527?accountid=14771 Saunders, Charles. Daily News [Halifax, N.S.] 16 June 1996: 24. Saunders, C. (1996, Jun 16).
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Toronto Star, (Toronto, Ont.), (AM Edition), Oct. 8, 1993: A7. "Wilson Head Fought Hard for Equality"
  7. ^ a b c Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Oct 9, 1993. Editorial, page C.2, "Wilson Head (1914-1993)".
  8. ^ a b http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/pushingbuttons/black--caribbean-community/national-black-coalition-of-ca
  9. ^ http://urbanalliance.ca/2015/08/04/uarr-40th-anniversity-celebration-resisting-racism-past-present-and-future/
  10. ^ The Montreal Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Sept. 27, 1968, page 45. "White Canada is warned of red power".
  11. ^ Wilson A. Head, FONDS, MG 31, D 148, Finding Aid No. 1458. http://www.archivescanada.ca/english/search/ItemDisplay.asp?
  12. ^ The Black Presence in the Canadian Mosaic: A Study of Perception and the Practice of Discrimination Against Blacks in Metropolitan Toronto submitted to The Ontario Human Rights Commission by Wilson A Head; Ontario Human Rights Commission. State or province government publication. Publisher: Ontario : Ontario Human Rights Commission, 1975.
  13. ^ Discrimination against blacks in Nova Scotia : the criminal justice system by Wilson A Head; Donald H J Clairmont; Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution (N.S.) State or province government publication, Publisher: [Halifax, N.S.] : The Commission, 1989.
  14. ^ Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Feb. 6, 1993. Editorial, page B.2, "Heed Head's Words".
  15. ^ a b c Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Feb. 3, 1993. News, page A.1, "We have a role to play, Head tells blacks".
  16. ^ Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. May 26, 1995, News, page A.25. "Race relations alliance celebrates 20 years".
  17. ^ Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Aug. 17, 1992. News, page A.1, "Race relations watchdog body urged for police".
  18. ^ The Globe and Mail, Aug. 29, 1979, page 2. "Suspend Policemen, Black Coalition Urges".
  19. ^ Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Ont., Canada. Feb. 17, 1969, p. 9, "Welfare Programs Lashed".
  20. ^ Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Ont., Canada. Oct. 30, 1969, page 13. "Negative income tax best, Liberal party told."
  21. ^ http://bbpa.org/harryjeromeawards/the-alumni/1988-alumni/
  22. ^ a b Who's who in Black Canada 2: Black success and Black excellence in Canada: a contemporary directory. By Dawn P. Williams, 1961 - Format: book. December 1, 2006, page 218.
  23. ^ The Montreal Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. August 9, 1968, page 20. "Citizens urged to protest against 'arbitrary' arrests".
  24. ^ Toronto Star, Toronto, Ont., Canada. July 5, 1992. Letter, page A.12, "June Callwood no racist, attests Wilson Head".
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