J’cans publish tribute book to teacher who shaped their lives in Canada

Years after his former teacher Florence Harrison retired, O. Dane Lawrence set out to find her. He found it hard to believe he was the only student whose life she had touched so deeply.

“I realised that my former colleagues and friends absolutely felt the same way about this lady who impacted our lives from grade none through 12 or 13 depending on the time that we spent with her in high school.”

Lawrence said Harrison, affectionately known as ‘Flo’, provided support that many students did not receive anywhere else outside their homes. Many were Caribbean immigrants adjusting to life in Canada while navigating racial discrimination and an unfamiliar education system during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

“For some of the kids that I grew up with, if it was missing from home, Flo stepped in,” said Lawrence, recalling times when the beloved teacher offered advice, comfort and reassurance to students whose parents were absent.

Lawrence, founder, president and chief sales officer of SalesForce 1 Inc., is originally from Runaway Bay, St Ann. He migrated to Canada in 1969 at age nine after his mother settled there. He and his brother later joined her, accompanied by their father.

“As we entered the school system it was traumatic — excitement first, and then we realised, wait a minute, this is a different system, not just in the content of the education, but the school that we attended. There may have been three black students in the whole school. And so, we were isolated, we were taunted, we had to defend ourselves — and this is all new when you come from a predominantly black country.”

Lawrence was among several of Harrison’s former students who gathered at the Blackhurst Cultural Centre in Toronto on August 26 for the launch of a book of testimonials honouring her contribution to black students.

The book, A Legacy of Education: IN HER FLO, a tribute to the distinguished educator, Florence Harrison, and her impact on black students, was edited by Jamaican Loris Thomas, who has been Harrison’s friend for more than 50 years.

Thomas said the idea emerged after attending an event in 2018 where Harrison’s former students spoke glowingly about the impact she had made on their lives. She felt other educators and youth workers should know about the legacy her friend had built and the admiration she continued to inspire decades after leaving the classroom.

She approached Lawrence and asked him to collect testimonials from former students for the publication.

Harrison retired in 1998. Five years later, Lawrence began searching for her through the Toronto District School Board. A staff member passed along a message, and Harrison soon called him.

The reconnection led to the creation of a WhatsApp group. Harrison now refers to the former students as her children, and their children as her grandchildren.

SHAPING BLACK LIVES

Harrison, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, travelled with three of her sisters to attend the launch.

She taught at York Memorial Collegiate Institute from 1970 to 1998 and also served as a guidance counsellor at the Career Centre at George Harvey Secondary School, helping students navigate post-secondary education and career planning.

In the early 1970s, she established Reunited African People (RAP), a coalition black youth group.

“It started at York Memo as the Black Students Orientation Club and that was a mentoring type of club. And then the principal called me into the office. This is what you don’t know, and he said we can no longer have a club in the school that is exclusive of everybody, meaning the white kids.”

Harrison said she regularly heard from black students about their experiences at school and introduced them to films on black history.

The principal’s intervention prompted her to move the club to the Harriet Tubman Centre, where students met on Saturdays and “were there all the time”, recalled one former student at the launch.

Harrison praised her former students for maintaining their friendships over the years and said she was happy to have provided a space where they could connect and support one another.

Recalling the level of care Harrison showed her students, Lawrence said it stood out within the school system.

“And that does not happen in a typical high school. We were a small group of black students; we were mighty in action. We wanted to be together; it made sense that we hung out and she helped us feel comfortable in our space together; she advocated for us.”

He said these are among the reasons he “celebrates Flo who has impacted his life and the lives of his colleagues”.

Harrison’s example, he added, shaped his understanding of leadership. Today, he also serves as executive director of the Durham Region Association of Black Professional and Entrepreneurs, which supports black-owned businesses through training, mentorship and procurement opportunities. The organisation assists businesses at every stage, from start-up to expansion.

editorial@gleanerjm.com