Calvin Ruck

Calvin Woodrow Ruck CM (September 4, 1925 – October 19, 2004) was an anti-racism activist and a member of the Canadian Senate. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia; his parents were immigrants to Canada from Barbados.

Senator Calvin Ruck

Ruck's life has been documented in a book entitled "Winds of Change: Life and Legacy of Calvin W. Ruck", which was penned by his granddaughter, Lindsay Ruck.

Professional life

Ruck left school after Grade 10 and worked as a labourer in Sydney and then as a porter on the Canadian National Railway from 1945 to 1958. Later Ruck owned and operated a corner store in Halifax. From 1968 to 1981, he worked as a Community Development worker with the Government of Nova Scotia.

Associations and activism

He held a number of positions within the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and was a member for most of his adult life. In the 1950s and 1960s, he organized campaigns against businesses in the Dartmouth area, including barber shops, which refused to serve black people. He worked with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission from 1981 to 1986. He campaigned tirelessly for the Canadian Government to recognize the heroics of Jeremiah Jones during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Awards

1979: Received diploma from the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University. The School of Social Work now awards a Calvin W. Ruck scholarship yearly.

1992: Awarded the Governor General's Commemorative Medal in 1992 for his work in the community.

1994: Named to the Order of Canada.[1]

Political life

In 1998, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, where he served until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2000.

He died at his home in Ottawa on October 19, 2004 at the age of 79.

Books published

Ruck published two books about Canada's No. 2 Construction Battalion, the only all-black battalion to serve in World War I:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Governor General of Canada: Honours. Retrieved Jan 26, 2007
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