'Dad, I'm going to help you': fulfilling a promise to preserve the memory of Black veterans
Kathy Grant made a promise to her father before he died — one that she continues to honour to this day.
Owen Rowe served in both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army during the Second World War, and was one of the many Black veterans who fought for Canada. Rowe dedicated the last years of his life to collecting pictures and documents of his fellow Black soldiers, trying to ensure that their contributions wouldn't be forgotten.
Since his passing, Grant has carried on her father's quest. She told their story to Now or Never:
My dad was a World War II veteran that volunteered to fight for Canada from Barbados.
Before he passed away, he said: "Kathy, I want you to get the Canadian government to formally recognize the contributions not only of the West Indian soldiers but also Blacks who served for Canada in all of the wars."
He had pancreatic cancer. When I found out that they wanted to put him in the hospital, I said: "Dad, do you want me to come look after you?"
When I went to his apartment, it was fully covered with images of Black Canadian soldiers. Letters, documents, all over the place. It was almost like walking into a place where you see hoarders—like you see hoarders on TV—but there were all these images. I said: "Dad, I'm going to help you."
Every day, every morning, I would give my dad pictures and images and say: "Dad, who was this? Tell me a little bit about this person."
So even though he was going to die, he said: "Kathy, I want you to promise that you will continue this legacy."
He thought it was important.
From the time he passed away, it's been 12 years. I'm still doing it. I'm still making sure that people know about the contributions.
Grant has created a Facebook page dedicated to sharing the stories of Black soldiers, is the founder of the Legacy Voices Project, and was the subject of a Doc Project documentary.
You can view some of the interviews she has conducted with Black veterans here and hear her interview by clicking the 'listen' button above.
