Black News, Culture, and Connection

Contrast

Contrast, a groundbreaking newspaper that published its first issue on February 9, 1969, was located at 28 Lennox Street in the heart of the neighbourhood at Bathurst and Bloor streets.

Contrast was founded by Al Hamilton, from Edmonton, Alberta, alongside Olivia Grange Walker, (now Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport), and Harold Hoyte, an editor and founder of the successful Nation newspaper in Barbados.

The newspaper’s tagline was “the eyes, ears and voice of the Black community.” Its coverage was local, national and international in scope, taking a hardline on police brutality, immigration, education, employment and race issues facing the Black community.

Initially published biweekly, it became a weekly in 1972. It was an outlet for Black theatre expression and a fertile ground for the emergence of Black Canadian writers and journalists such as Arnold Auguste, publisher of Share newspaper; celebrated author Austin Clarke; Royson James, Toronto Star; Jojo Chintoh, Citytv; Makeda Silvera, publisher, Sister Vision Press; Hamlin Grange, president and co-founder of DiversiPro Inc; professor and author Cecil Foster; Diane Liverpool, photographer; Al Peabody, photographer; and Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival.

“The newspaper promoted businesses and events in the Black community. Contrast was the source of vital information about Black influencers, scholarships, apartment vacancies, employment opportunities, and also offered free listings to community members for the promotion of their startups. Anyone living in Toronto or visiting who wanted to know where to find Caribbean brands knew that the newspaper was the first stop for perusing advertisements of merchandise within the community,” writes Norman Otis Richmond in “Welcome to Blackhurst: An Iconic Toronto Neighbourhood”.7

Al Hamilton managed Contrast until he sold it to Denham Jolly in the early 1980s, who later sold it to Horace Gooden in 1983. Gooden stopped publication of the paper in 1986 and a few years later launched an online version which eventually closed in 1991.