FRANCIS DORRINGTON
Francis Dorrington remembers when he wasn’t able to have a pop with his teammates in a restaurant after winning a basketball game because of the colour of his skin.
“The blacks were really looked down on. We were pushed as low as they could,” Dorrington said in an interview Friday.
The New Glasgow native says his past, both good and bad, has shaped him into who he is today, but he didn’t think it was anything extraordinary.
Until he recently received a phone call.
Dorrington, the first African Nova Scotian to be elected to public office in New Glasgow, to serve on the executive of Nova Scotia School Boards Association and as a director of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, is among the most recent Order of Nova Scotia recipients.
“I used to see these people once every few years and they’d show up at your door, say ‘vote for me and I’ll do this,’” Dorrington recalled about previous municipal elections.
“I remember thinking, what is Mr. so-and-so doing so great that everybody remembers him?”
Dorrington didn’t see any black people stopping by, so he decided to run for himself.
Now, he’s the Mr. so-and-so.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m dumbfounded,” he said.
“You figure how many they’ve given out and you’re one of the recipients, you think how fortunate and lucky you are.”
Dorrington will be one of five people to be honoured at Province House in Halifax on Nov. 26.
ANN MacLEAN
Another New Glasgow resident is among the recipients.
Ann MacLean, of Ingonish Beach, was the longest serving and first female mayor of the Pictou County town.
MacLean is also known for her tireless work as a mental health therapist, social worker and addictions treatment supervisor and director to improve the lives of the province’s vulnerable and marginalized communities.
She founded the Metropolitan Mental Health Group Homes Association in 1976 and was a founding member of the Tearmann Society for Abused Women in 1984.
“An early promoter of the determinants of health, (MacLean) changed attitudes about mental health, addiction, and domestic violence,” the release said.
She also was a key negotiator in watershed management and water treatment in New Glasgow, redevelopment of the riverfront and the federal gas tax fund.
DAVID McKEAGE
David McKeage will also be honoured with the province’s highest award.
McKeage, of Halifax, knew first-hand what it was like to be a kid who had cancer. McKeage, who was first diagnosed with leukemia at age 11, went on to launch Brigadoon Village camp for children with chronic illness on the shore of Aylesford Lake in the Annapolis Valley in 2011. The camp, Canada’s largest pediatric illness camp program, is now a year-round medical recreation facility for children with chronic illness and their families.
McKeage, who had cancer four times, died on Dec. 30, 2018.
“Dave’s humility and profound gratitude for everyone who answered his call for help, combined with his endless optimism and resilience are a lasting legacy for all who had the privilege to know him,” a news release on the recipients said.
“He proved that no dream is too big, no obstacle too great, no child should be defined by their diagnosis.”
ELIZABETH CROMWELL
Elizabeth Cromwell was known for her strength, vision and perseverance.
In the 1980s, the Birchtown resident fought against the environmental racism of a proposed landfill, which would have destroyed African Nova Scotian archaeological items and records, in her community.
Cromwell was a founding board member of the Shelburne County Cultural Awareness Society, which went on to successfully block the proposal. The society evolved into the Black Loyalist Heritage Society, which went on to secure a national historic site and monument board designation for the landing of the Black Loyalists in Canada in 1973.
Cromwell collected genealogical and other historic information and was instrumental in mobilizing the community to promote Black Loyalists and African Nova Scotian history,” the release said.
Cromwell spent the majority of her career as a caseworker supervisor with the Shelburne County Children’s Aid Society, while also volunteering for organizations across the province for the Christ Church Anglican Council.
The strong African Nova Scotian advocate died on Oct. 2, but was notified of the award before her passing.
“Her voice and persistent determination helped give black history its rightful place in the provincial and national narrative,” the release said.
DR. NONI MacDONALD
Dr. Noni MacDonald is not only known for her work across the country, but also around the world.
MacDonald, the first pediatrician in Canada certified in pediatric infectious diseases, founded the division of infectious diseases at the University of Ottawa in 1981 and founded and served as chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario until 1999.
From there, she moved to Halifax to take a position with Dalhousie University, where she became the first woman in Canada to hold the position of dean of a faculty of medicine. Following her deanship, she co-founded the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology in 2004 and is still an active member.
MacDonald has more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and was the founding editor-in-chief of the Pediatrics and Child Health journal from 1996-2016.
MacDonald’s medical expertise has also reached other continents. In 2008, she co-founded MicroResearch, a program in Eastern Africa that builds community capacity to allow local health-care providers to solve health problems with local context, culture and resources.
“This program has also been so successful in Eastern Africa that it is now used in Nova Scotia to serve communities across this province,” the release said, adding public health leaders in Saskatchewan have also asked to rollout the program in their province.
MacDonald has been a consultant and adviser for the World Health Organization for more than 20 years and currently serves on the strategic advisory committee on immunization. As one of 15 people on the committee, she provides critical advice to WHO on immunization.
“In brief, Dr. MacDonald has long been an advocate for and leader in children and youth health locally and nationally in Canada and for the past 20 years on a more global scale,” the release said.
