Black Internal Support Network of Halton Police and its community partners launched a Black Heritage Police Cruiser on Thursday, Aug 26.
Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism and Equity (iDARE) Committee of Queen of Heaven Catholic Elementary School has designed the cruiser. Members of the Committee such as Bonnie Wiltshire, Sokomba Effiong, Valerie Nelson, Gabriella Ball, Andrea Domenico, Margaret Keats, Amos Olujide and Jane Thomas had submitted the design during a design contest organised in February 2021.
Halton Regional Police Service’s (HRPS) Black Internal Support Network had organised the design contest in collaboration with its community partners to pay tribute to Black History Month.
Bonnie Wiltshire of the winning design team commented, “This design concept seeks to lay a foundation for healing and a path forward for the Black Halton community and the HRPS working together with a common understanding and a common purpose.”
While explaining the design of the cruiser, Wiltshire added, “The intertwined ribbon design on the cruiser weaves the narrative of enslavement of Black Peoples in North America to the resilience as they fled to safety, whose stories became footprints of success on the landscapes of both Halton and Canada. The words inscribed on the ribbon are merely some of the ways the Black community in Halton and Canada have contributed to the very fabric of these communities and paved way for others.”
The cruiser also features Jean Augustine’ quote, “Black History is not just for Black People. Black History is Canadian History.” The design team explained connecting with the quote for its message about Black history’s celebration.
Members of the HRPS Black Internal Support Network envisioned the HRPS Black Heritage Police Cruiser. African and Caribbean organisations funded the project and sponsored a one-time academic scholarship of $2500 to the winning team.
The iDARE Committee offered two graduates of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School, a Queen of Heaven High School Graduate Scholarship using the contest’s funds to support their post-secondary studies.
The following community partners supported HRPS in this initiative:
- African Caribbean Council of Halton
- Burlington Caribbean Connection
- Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton
- Black Mentorship Inc.
- Caribbean and African Coalition of Canada
- Halton Regional Police Association
- Halton Black History Awareness Society
- I am. I can. I will.