Dudley Laws (May 7, 1934March 24, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

civil rights activist and executive director of the Black Action Defence Committee. Laws was born in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, to parents Ezekiel and Agatha Laws, and was a brother to six other siblings. A

welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...

and mechanic by trade, he worked at Standard Engineering Works until he emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1955 and became involved in defending the West Indian community. He influenced the development and launch of the Somerleyton and Geneva Road Association in Brixton and also joined the

Standing Conference of the West Indies Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the A ...

and the St Johns Inter-Racial Club.Christian Cotroneo, "In pursuit of 'greatness'; Four local black mentors recognized for their years of grassroots effort in the community Organization honours work 'they've done in the past and continue to do,'" ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', December 19, 2005 In 1965, he relocated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, where he worked as a welder and taxi driver. He joined the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a Garveyite organization. Laws became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a critic of the then Metropolitan Toronto Police Force, due to a number of young black men being shot by police constables, as well as levelling other allegations of racist practices against the police. He was also prominent as an advocate for immigrants and refugees and worked as an immigration consultant in the 1990s. In 1988, he founded the Black Action Defence Committee following the police shooting of

Lester Donaldson Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American arti ...

. In later years, Laws maintained a better relationship with Toronto Police and was friends with two former Deputy Chiefs ( Keith D. Forde and

Peter Sloly Peter John Michael Sloly (born 5 August 1966) is a Canadian former police officer who served as the chief of police for the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) from 2019 to 2022. Before joining the OPS, Sloly was a member of the Toronto Police Servi ...

). Laws died in Toronto of kidney disease on March 24, 2011, and interred at Glenview Memorial Gardens. In 1991 police arrested Mr. Laws and charged him with conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants in and out of Canada. He was convicted and fined, but the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new trial after learning that the trial judge had met privately with prosecutors. The Crown later stayed the charges.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Dudley 1934 births 2011 deaths Black Canadian activists Canadian civil rights activists Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom British emigrants to Canada Mechanics (people) People from Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica Deaths from kidney disease