Time for a statue of Linc in downtown Hamilton
Perfect location would be between likenesses of Macdonald and Queen Victoria
This is Black History month. Like most of my fellow Hamiltonians, I remember with affection and respect one of our city’s most distinguished Black citizens — and certainly its most famous — the late Lincoln Alexander.
“Linc,” as he was known and loved, was Canada’s first Black MP, first Black cabinet minister and first Black lieutenant-governor. He also served as chair of the Workplace Safety Insurance Board and was a respected Hamilton lawyer before he entered public life.
He was Canada’s to be sure, but he belonged to Hamilton and was a towering presence in this community throughout his remarkable life. He was in every respect a human icon — and he was ours.
It would make a powerful and enduring statement to erect a statue of Linc right in the centre of Hamilton and we have the perfect spot for it.
Gore Park is the heart of our downtown. It runs between the two branches of King Street East, and is bounded by James Street South on the west side and John Street South on the east side — with Hughson Street South slicing through it at the halfway point.
At the far east end is an imposing statute of John A. Macdonald.
At the far west end is an even more imposing statue of Queen Victoria.
There is no statue at Hughson, the halfway point.
That is where Linc should stand for the ages. His presence there would speak with an eloquence that matches his own.
Think of it: Canada’s iconic Black trailblazer, universally loved and admired, a beacon of inclusion and diversity, a trailblazer, a barrier-smasher, a giant in the long march toward universal acceptance and equality for the BIPOC communities — standing proudly — and equally — between two other transformative figures from our history who represent the colonial past from which leaders like Linc have helped us evolve.
And, in a nice twist, he could stand looking back at the site of his own law office in the old CIBC building at the corner of King and James from which he gazed down for many years on that very park and those very statues.
What a perfect symbiosis. What a perfect focal point for years to come, for the people still advocating for everything he fought for and represented — to gather and celebrate and be heard and make change.
What a symbol of hope and inspiration it could be!