Legal trailblazer, passionate advocate
Superior Court judge fought for racial justice and the disadvantaged
When Kevin Pitt recalls the proudest day of his life, he’s reminded of the time his father was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
In 1994, Romain Pitt became the first Black lawyer in Canada from a private practice to become a Superior Court judge. He held that position until 2010.
Pitt helped found the Caribana festival, now known as the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, as well as the Black Business and Professional Association.
Pitt died on April 29 after a fall in his home. He was 84.
“His instincts really led him to serve the little person,” Kevin told the Star. “He really stood up for the rights of the disadvantaged.”
Pitt was born in the West Indies in Grenville, Grenada, in 1934 and moved to Toronto at19 after his father died a few years prior. Without access to student aid, he worked several jobs throughout university, working on the General Motors assembly line, behind the counter at Eaton’s and as a driver for a bakery.
After earning an honours degree in economics, he went on to study law at Osgoode Hall at the University of Toronto, and was called to the bar in1965. For the next two years, he worked at the prestigious Blaney law firm on Bay Street.
He left to co-found the first Black law practice in Canada, alongside Eric Lindsay.
“I had tremendous relations with my employers, but I just felt like I wanted to be my own man. I think I don’t take instructions or orders very well,” he told the Star in a 1985 interview.
Lawyer Selwyn Pieters, a friend for 25 years, said Pitt’s firm provided a vital service to a community that was often underserved.
“At the time that he started practising, there were few Black lawyers, so there was quite a demand on his time,” he said.
He gave back in other ways, too, Pieters said. Pitt mentored Black students interested in pursuing law school throughout his life, and the two met while Pieters was applying to law schools in the mid-1990s.
“In my memories of him, he is somebody who was very generous with his time, somebody who was always willing to offer advice and support,” Pieters said. “He was a caring person.”
He was also a passionate advocate for racial justice, his son said.
Raj Dhir, executive director and chief legal officer at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, also shared fond memories with him.
In a post on LinkedIn, he recalled a time as a lawyer when he was trying to convince a panel of judges that it was misguided to suggest race cannot be a factor in an employer’s decision to fire an employee. Pitt responded: “Mr. Dhir, you don’t have to take me to any authorities to convince me that that proposition doesn’t amount to hill of beans in my view!”
“The two non-racialized judges looked at him, looked back at me and nodded their heads in agreement. It was an awesome moment and another reminder of why we need more diversity on the bench,” Dhir wrote.
Pitt was involved with the community in many ways, sitting on the boards of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto General Hospital and the Church Council of Justice and
Corrections. His achievements were marked by several awards, including the Caribana Award for Cultural Contribution Community Development and Awareness in 1984 and the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers’ Black Judges award in 2000.
“He is somebody who I aspire to be in terms of being a judge someday,” Pieters said.
He is survived by his wife Amabelle Pitt and his children Kevin, Jennifer and Tracy.
The family held a small funeral for him last Wednesday, but intends to plan another celebration for him in the near future.
“He had a lot of friends that live out of town that were not able to get here, and they’re quite devastated, so we definitely have to have something a lot larger for the many people that my dad touched throughout his life,” his son said.