Stanley G. Grizzle

Stanley George Sinclair Grizzle (November 18, 1918 – November 12, 2016) CM, O.Ont was a Canadian citizenship judge, soldier, political candidate and civil rights and labour union activist. He died in November 2016 at the age of 97.

Early life Stanley Grizzle was born to Theodore Grizzle and Mary Sinclair Grizzle in Toronto in November 1918. Grizzle had grown up in the area of Bathurst and College and was one of seven children in his family. Prior to meeting, Grizzle's parents had both immigrated to Toronto from Jamaica in 1911 and had later met in the city.

Porter experience At 22 years old, Grizzle began working as a porter on the Canadian Pacific Railway in June 1940. Grizzle had explained that he got a job as a porter as he could not find any other employment and simply that he "did not want to starve".

Black porters such as Grizzle were expected to tend to the needs of travellers at all times. Their job included carrying and storing luggage, cleaning toilets, shining shoes, setting up and making beds, pressing clothing, serving food and more. The work of a porter demanded long hours, but gave little compensation. Job security was another worry, as porters could easily be let go. Additionally, Black porters in Canada often experienced racism within their roles. One of the most demeaning aspects of the job was that travellers often called and referred to Black porters as "George", named after George Pullman, the inventor of the Pullman sleeping car.

Union experience While working as a porter, Grizzle became active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), a trade union whose leader was the charismatic African American A. Philip Randolph.

Upon his return to Canada after serving in Europe during World War II, Grizzle became more active in the union. He was elected president of his union local, and pushed the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to open the management ranks to black people. He also plunged into other causes and was a leader in Canada's nascent civil rights era of the 1950s, working with the Joint Labour Committee to Combat Racial Intolerance.

Political career In 1959, Grizzle and Jack White were the first Black Canadian candidates to run for election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the predecessor to the New Democratic Party). In 1960, Grizzle went to work for the Ontario Labour Relations Board. In 1977 he was appointed a Citizenship Judge by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Awards and acknowledgment

In recognition of his work with the BSCP and his civil rights work, Grizzle received the Order of Ontario in 1990 from Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln Alexander. As further recognition, he received the Order of Canada in 1995 from Governor General Roméo LeBlanc. Additionally, Grizzle recently received the Stanley Ferguson Lifetime Accomplishment award and received a grant of 25 shares of Coca-Cola stock.

On November 1, 2007, a park on Main Street in Toronto's east end was dedicated the "Stanley G. Grizzle Park" in a ceremony hosted by Toronto Mayor David Miller.

Writer Suzette Mayr consulted Grizzle's book My Name's Not George: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Canada as part of her research for her Giller Prize-winning 2022 novel The Sleeping Car Porter.

Family

Stanley was married in 1942 and later divorced in 1964 from Kathleen Victoria Toliver born in Hamilton, Ontario (deceased).

Kathleen was a founding member of the Canadian Negro Woman's Association as well as a Canadian activist whose family today is still recognized as part of the Underground Railroad.

They had 6 biological children, Patricia, journalist and actress Nerene Virgin, Pamela, Stanley Jr., Latanya, and Sonya, and 14 grandchildren.

Publications My Name's Not George: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters: Personal Reminiscences of Stanley G. Grizzle, by Stanley G. Grizzle with John Cooper.