Hugh Burnett

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Hugh Burnett (1918–1991) was a Canadian civil rights leader.

A descendant of slaves, Hugh Burnett was a carpenter in the rural Canadian town of Dresden in the province of Ontario. He was active in the National Unity Association, an anti-discrimination group formed in 1949: at the time, blacks in Dresden and other Ontario towns were regularly refused service in restaurants, barber shops and stores.

In his fight against discrimination, Burnett, a plain-spoken, determined activist, engaged the support of Toronto-based groups like the Joint Labour Committee on Human Rights, whose members included Donna Hill (wife of activist Daniel Hill and mother of author Lawrence Hill and singer Dan Hill) and prominent labour activist Bromley Armstrong. Delegations to Ontario Premier Leslie Frost in the early 1950s resulted in the passage of two acts to outlaw discrimination in the province: the Fair Employment Practices Act (outlawing workplace discrimination) and the Fair Accommodation Practices Act (making discrimination illegal in restaurants, stores and other public-access areas). Despite these laws, people in the town continued to practise discrimination.

Under Burnett's direction, in 1954, the NUA staged sit-ins of two restaurants that flouted the law, forcing a court challenge that resulted in victory for the NUA and bringing a legal end to overt discrimination in the province. Despite the victory, Burnett was forced to leave town after citizens boycotted his carpentry business. His story is told in the book "Season of Rage: Hugh Burnett and the Struggle for Civil Rights".