Robert Sutherland
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Robert Sutherland (1830-1878) was the first known graduate of colour at a Canadian university. His accomplishments, bequest and legacy resulted in a student-led awareness campaign on the diverse history of Queen's University nearly twelve decades after his death.
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[edit] Robert Sutherland Task Force
The Alma Mater Society of Queen's University established the Robert Sutherland Task Force (RSTF) in January 1997. Its mandate was to "seek a space on campus which would be appropriate to recognize the contributions of Robert Sutherland, the university's first major benefactor and first Black graduate."
The Task Force was asked to answer the following questions:
- Where would the space be located and what type of space would it be?
- What would the space be used for and who would have access to use the space?
- How is the space to be managed?
- What would be the most effective and relevant ways for the space to be decorated?
- What would be the most appropriate memorial for Robert Sutherland within and/or external to the space?
- Who would pay for the establishment of the space?
After extensive deliberations the RSTF recommended:
- The establishment of the Robert Sutherland Award for Excellence in Debating, to be presented by the AMS to a top debater each year at the AMS Annual General Meeting;
- The establishment of the Sutherland Prize, to be awarded by the AMS to a self-defined graduating student of colour who has shown leadership on diversity issues on campus;
- The naming of the Fireplace Reading Room in Stauffer Library in Sutherland's honour, with a memorial erected within the space, paid for by the university.
The RSTF also advocated the creation of a Robert Sutherland Visitorship by the John Deutsch University Centre.
The Robert Sutherland Task Force's final report was adopted unanimously by AMS Assembly on March 11, 1997 and its recommendations forwarded to the University administration.
The Task Force was chaired by Greg Frankson (Con-Ed '97), the first Black person to serve a term as AMS President in 1996-97. It was also perhaps the first committee in the history of the AMS comprised entirely of members of marginalized groups. Members included Annette Paul (Arts '97), Kevin Ashby (Arts '98), Rosalie Griffith (Con-Ed '98), Vinayini Murty (Arts '99), Donna Wallen (mature student) and Kiké Roach (Law '99).
[edit] Memorials to Robert Sutherland Stemming from the RSTF Recommendations
After the RSTF final report was approved by AMS Assembly in March 1997, the main recommendations of the report were implemented by the AMS or the university as prescribed. All of them were fully implemented as written in the final report, with the exception of the the room naming.
[edit] Robert Sutherland Room
The Robert Sutherland Task Force had recommended the naming of the Fireplace Reading Room in Stauffer Library as the students' choice as the most appropriate memorial for Sutherland. The university, however, would not agree to this recommendation. They were supportive of finding a space on campus to name for Sutherland but maintained that the room in question needed to be kept available as a major naming opportunity during the Campaign for Queen's, the capital campaign that was underway at the time.
Despite the irony involved, the Task Force continued its work. The university proposed a number of alternate sites. Ultimately, the Billiards Room in the JDUC, a room the RSTF originally distanced itself from, became the consensus choice of student and university representatives.
On October 3, 1997, the Queen's University Board of Trustees confirmed the John Deutsch University Centre Council recommendation to name:
"Room 240, John Deutsch University Centre, in memory of Robert Sutherland, in recognition of his generous support of Queen’s through a large estate gift, the first major bequest received by the University."
The room was officially dedicated at a ceremony in March 1998, when Principal William C. Leggett and RSTF Chair Greg Frankson unveiled a plaque in Sutherland's honour. The first Sutherland Visitor, Dr. Esmerelda Thornhill, then the James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies at Dalhousie University, gave her lecture at the event.
Today, the room is available for meetings, lectures, performances and the like, and houses a dedication plaque along with the Sutherland Prize award board. It has recently undergone renovations and was rededicated by the university on November 29, 2006, at the insistence of the Queen's Coalition for Racial and Ethnic Diversity (QCRED).
[edit] Robert Sutherland Visitorship
The Robert Sutherland Visitorship was established by the John Deutsch University Centre Council (on the recommendation of the Robert Sutherland Task Force) in 1997, with the express purpose of bringing to Queen's University campus a noted speaker each year with expertise in the areas of equity, community diversity and race relations.
Visitors have included: Esmerelda Thornhill, academic and Black Canadian historian; Enid Lee, international consultant; Ken Wiwa, journalist and author; Patricia McFadden, activist; Faith Nolan, singer and songwriter; William Commanda, elder, and Romola Trebilcock; George Elliott Clarke, poet and author; Afua Cooper, dub poet and author. The 2008 Visitor is novelist Lawrence Hill, who will deliver his address, Faction: The Merging of History and Fiction, on February 13, 2008. See http://www.queensu.ca/jduc/rsv.html for details.
[edit] Sutherland Prize
In addition to the Visitorship, the RSTF also recommended that a prize be established in honour of Robert Sutherland. The citation reads:
Presented annually by the Alma Mater Society to a graduating and self-defined student of colour who has shown leadership and initiative at Queen's, most specifically in the area of encouraging and fostering diversity on campus.
Recipients of the prize:
1997-98 - Donna Wallen
1998-99 - Cherilyn Scobie
1999-00 - Ray Dziet
2001-02 - Amma Bonsou
2002-03 - Jonathan Daly
2005-06 - Jacqueline Kiggundu
2006-07 - Tka Pinnock
[edit] Robert Sutherland Award for Excellence in Debating
The Alma Mater Society presents this award annually "to the member of the Debating Union who has distinguished him/herself as an outstanding contributor to the Union, exemplified the principles of fair play and sportsmanship, and has demonstrated superior skill and dedication while representing Queen's University on the national and/or international debating circuit(s)."
[edit] Other Queen's Memorials to Robert Sutherland
Besides the memorials established by the Robert Sutherland Task Force, the following have also been established by people dedicated to preserving Sutherland's memory:
[edit] Sutherland Memorial Entrance Bursary
Established by the Afro-Caribe Community Foundation of Kingston and District with donations from friends and colleagues of the Foundation. Awarded to a student entering any undergraduate program at Queen's University on the basis of financial need, good academic standing, and involvement in and/or contribution to the African or Caribbean communities in Canada. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
[edit] Robert Sutherland Plaque in Grant Hall
The City of Kingston erected a plaque to Sutherland's memory in the front foyer of Grant Hall in 1974, when George Speal (Comm '54) was Mayor. Before the work of the RSTF, it was the only memorial on campus for Sutherland.
During deliberations between members of the RSTF and university officials, the university suggested replacing the old marker with a commemorative plaque in cast bronze or brass. This was never done.
The original plaque still hangs in Grant Hall.
[edit] Sources
- Minutes of the meeting of the Alma Mater Society of Queen's University Assembly, March 11, 1997.
- Final Report of the AMS Robert Sutherland Task Force, tabled and adopted unanimously at AMS Assembly, March 11, 1997.
- AMS Robert Sutherland Task Force Submission to the John Deutsch University Centre Council, August 28, 1997.
- Notes on the deliberations of the AMS Robert Sutherland Task Force, Greg Frankson, RSTF Chair.
- Minutes of the meeting of the Queen's University Board of Trustees, October 3-4, 1997 (http://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/trustees/minutes/oct03_97.html)
- Information on the Robert Sutherland Visitorship - John Deutsch University Centre website (http://www.queensu.ca/jduc/rsv.html)
- Queen's University Senate - Scholarships and Student Aid Committee Report, May 2001 (http://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/senate/SSAmay01.html)
