After 60 years of giving back, this legend isn't slowing down
CBC
CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2024 Black Changemakers.
Six and nine.
Those are special numbers to Gemma Raeburn-Baynes and her family.
After five consecutive miscarriages, her mother gave birth to her older sister, Ann. Two more miscarriages followed before pregnancy number nine introduced the world to Gemma, born at around 28 weeks.
"You think it's going to live?" her father said, according to stories she was told.
Raeburn-Baynes is now 73, but as far as she's concerned, she was never supposed to be here. Her mother's tenth and final pregnancy also resulted in a miscarriage.
"That is why I figured I had to do something. I had to be somebody, you know? Why would God bring me here and not take me with the other eight kids?" she said.
"I am here for a purpose."
That sense of purpose has catapulted her to six decades and counting of community building and community service.
Whether it was raising money for young people to go to school, showcasing the best of Black culture, or even challenging eurocentric standards of beauty, Raeburn-Baynes seemingly always had a plan to empower Black people.
She is the driving force behind the city's Carifiesta parade, which debuted in 1974 and has been a staple in the city's arts scene for decades. During the late 70s, she began organizing beauty pageants and modelling events for Black women.
She helped put a spotlight on Caribbean food, music and culture when she founded the Taste of the Caribbean and Spice Island Cultural festivals. She's also written countless articles for the Montreal Community Contact, a go-to news source for generations of English-speaking Black Montrealers.
The McGill University graduate juggled these different projects while carving out a 35-year-career at the Bank of Montreal, a relationship that's led to the bank sponsoring many of her initiatives.
Despite her busy schedule and the heart condition that was passed down to her from her father, Raeburn-Baynes always has time to smile, chat, laugh and even dance.
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