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Revision as of 01:44, 24 May 2009
Dudley Laws (born May 7, 1934) is a Canadian civil rights activist and executive director of the Black Action Defence Committee.
Laws was born in Jamaica. A welder and mechanic by trade, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1955 and became involved in defending the West Indian community. He formed the Brixton Neighbourhood Association and also joined the Standing Conference of the West Indies. In 1965 he relocated to Toronto, Canada, where he worked as a welder and taxi driver. He joined the Universal African Improvement Association, a Garveyite organization.
Laws became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a critic of the Toronto Police, due to a number of young black men being shot by police constables, as well as leveling other allegations of racist practices against the police. He has also been 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.
References
- 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