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| '''Dudley Laws''' ( |
'''Dudley Laws''' (May 7, 1934{{spaced ndash}}March 24, 2011) was a ] civil rights activist and executive director of the ]. | ||
| Laws was born in ], to parents Ezekiel and Agatha Laws, and was a brother to six other siblings.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203014538/http://www.dudleylawsday.com/dudleylaws.html |date=February 3, 2011 }}. dudleylawsday.com</ref> | |||
| ==Early life== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | A ] and ] by trade, he worked at ] until he emigrated to the ] in 1955 and became involved in defending the ] community. He influenced the development and launch of the Somerleyton and Geneva Road Association in ] and also joined the ] and the St Johns Inter-Racial Club.<ref name=Christian>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,'" '']'', December 19, 2005</ref> In 1965, he relocated to ], ], Canada, where he worked as a welder and taxi driver. He joined the ], a ] organization. | ||
| ⚫ | Laws became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a critic of the ], due to a number of young black men being shot by police constables, as well as |
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| ⚫ | Laws became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a critic of the then ], 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 ] following the police shooting of ]. | ||
| ⚫ | In 1988, he founded the ] following the police shooting of ]. | ||
| ==Allegations of wrongdoing against Laws== | |||
| {{Refimprove|date=September 2007}} | |||
| In later years, Laws maintained a better relationship with Toronto Police and was friends with two former Deputy Chiefs (] and ]).<ref>{{cite web|author=Robertson, Ian |url=http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/03/24/17741846.html |title=Black activist Dudley Laws dead at 76 |publisher=Toronto Sun |date= |accessdate=2011-03-26}}</ref> | |||
| ===Libel=== | |||
| Laws was sued in 1991 by the ] Association for libel, when after a series of police shootings, Laws accused the Toronto police of being "the most murderous in ]." The suit was later dropped. | |||
| Laws died in Toronto of kidney disease on March 24, 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/activist-dudley-laws-passes-away-from-kidney-disease-1.622742 |title= Activist Dudley Laws passes away from kidney disease – CTV News |publisher=Toronto.ctv.ca |date= 24 March 2011|accessdate=2011-03-26}}</ref> and interred at Glenview Memorial Gardens.<ref>http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/2011/04/02/17853651.html {{dead link|date=August 2021}}</ref> | |||
| ===Immigration=== | |||
| In February 1994, Laws was convicted on three counts of conspiracy to smuggle aliens. Laws worked as an immigration consultant at the time. The trial revealed that Laws was the target a massive entrapment operation organized jointly by the Metro Toronto Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in collaboration with US immigration police and courts. A motion to stay the guilty verdicts against Laws on the grounds of police entrapment was dismissed by the presiding judge. He was handed a nine-month sentence. | |||
| 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. <ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=National Post|url=https://www.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/remembering-black-rights-activist-dudley-laws/wcm/990970a0-0a6f-4752-8c01-bf06b661a917/amp/|access-date=|website=}}</ref> | |||
| A 1989 secret police report revealed during the entrapment hearing documented police surveillance of 13 groups and 18 individuals - including Laws - who were active in the fight against cop brutality, racism, and apartheid in South Africa. | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| "It's not often in the day-to-day struggle that ordinary working class people win a victory" said BADC activist Lennox Farrell, at a victory celebration held at his home the day after the verdict was pronounced. Laws thanked his numerous supporters and said that the verdict had given him "the freedom to continue my work" and that "the allegations will not impair my continued defense of the Black community." | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| == |
==External links== | ||
| * | |||
| In February of 1995, 3 accounts of sexual assault was laid against Dudley Laws by his daughter. She testified that Laws raped her as often as three times a week from the time she was seven years old until she was 14, between 1968 and 1976. | |||
| Under questioning by the defense, the woman stated that she opposed Laws' political views, which she said promoted hatred towards whites. In lengthy testimonies describing their family life, both the woman's mother and brother vehemently denied that there was any sign that she was abused. Among those called to testify by the prosecution was a ] who stated that the accuser showed symptoms similar to a ]. But under cross-examination he acknowledged he had never actually spoken with the woman. | |||
| The prosecution based its case on recent changes in ], which state that in cases of ], no physical or corroborative evidence – that is, witnesses – are required to get a conviction. The presiding judge at the trial, Justice Victor Paisley, instructed the jury to carefully examine the credibility of both the accused and the accuser in rendering their verdict. | |||
| The mostly working-class jury was made up of six men and six women and included only three members of visible minorities, none of whom were of African descent. Out of a pool of 140 potential jurors, there were only three black people. Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Charles Roach, one of Laws' lawyers, stated that if there had been blacks on the jury, they would not have taken so long to arrive at a verdict. | |||
| "Although the police can find large numbers of (black) people to charge as defendants" he said, "they can find very few to bring here as jurors." | |||
| The jury pronounced a verdict of "not guilty" on all three charges of sexual assault, the verdict coming after ten hours of deliberation. Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Laws said that he was pleased with the outcome of the two-week trial. | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
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Latest revision as of 02:31, 2 November 2023
Dudley Laws (May 7, 1934 – March 24, 2011) was a Canadian 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 and mechanic by trade, he worked at Standard Engineering Works until he emigrated to the United Kingdom 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 and the St Johns Inter-Racial Club. In 1965, he relocated to Toronto, Ontario, 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.
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).
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
- About Dudley Laws Archived February 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. dudleylawsday.com
- 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, December 19, 2005
- Robertson, Ian. "Black activist Dudley Laws dead at 76". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- "Activist Dudley Laws passes away from kidney disease – CTV News". Toronto.ctv.ca. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/2011/04/02/17853651.html
- "National Post".