Lincoln Alexander dies

Sad news indeed.  I remember him running for Parliament in 1968 and winning my then Riding.  A real giant of a man both in spirit and physically.  I last saw him perhaps a year ago and he was still a vigorous and powerful man.

  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲ-דֹנָי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם דַּיָּן הָאֱמֶת

Story here

Lincoln Alexander, Canada's first black MP and former Ontario lieutenant governor, has died at the age of 90.

Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David Onley tweeted the news Friday morning, offering his condolences to Alexander's wife Marni and his family.

The man known to all as “Linc” was a “living legend” in his hometown of Hamilton and a man whose life and career were “a series of groundbreaking firsts,” Onley said in a statement.

“At a time when racism was endemic in Canadian society, he broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land,” he said.

“Lincoln Alexander's whole life was a rebuke to those who would equate ability with skin colour,” Onley added. “He overcame poverty and prejudice to scale the professional and political highs.”