Inclement weather moved Friday’s celebration of Black History, Black Futures Month indoors, but as Marium Tolson-Murtty, director of the Office of Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, and Mediation, noted, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of dozens of students, staff, alumni, and community members gathered in the Black Scholars Institute lounge.

“The rain is not going to stop us from welcoming and celebrating Black History, Black Futures Month,” she said.

The flag raising has been rescheduled to noon today — Monday, Feb. 3 — outside the west side of Chrysler Hall Tower.

Friday’s event opened with drumming by social work professor Festus Moasun and the singing of the Black national anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing by drama and education student Promys Robinson.

Clinton Beckford, vice-president, people, equity, and inclusion; Shetina M. Jones, associate vice-president, student experience; Black Scholars Institute director Camisha Sibblis; Kaitlyn Ellsworth, Black student support co-ordinator; and Afrofest co-ordinator Victoria Odubunmi addressed the crowd, with Dr. Jones directing her remarks to those of African heritage.

“Black excellence in Canada is a powerful testament to boldness, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to progress, both within education and society,” she said. “As Black Canadian we continue to break barriers, we inspire the nation with a legacy rooted in strength, intelligence, and an unyielding pursuit of justice and equity.

“Our contributions are building a more inclusive and dynamic future — one where every voice is valued and heard.”

The Canadian government has set a theme of “Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations” for February 2025.

“Be authentic,” says Donna Wellington emphatically. “Use your voice positively to be heard, foster connections, and seek to understand.”

Wellington (BScN 1994, MBA 2004) is a Black health-care leader with over 27 years of executive experience at Henry Ford Health in Detroit. Currently, she is senior vice-president - chief ambulatory officer, and vice-president system primary health.

Her roles have included appointments that oversee strategic direction and operational performance that aim to enhance the quality and delivery of care in both hospital and ambulatory settings — medical services that involve patients who are not admitted to a hospital stay. Her path has been one of resilience, determination, and commitment to quality care.

As a child of a single parent raised in a predominantly white neighborhood, Wellington understood early in life the importance of pride in her identity and the power of a strong work ethic — virtues her mother passed on to her.

“Embrace who are unapologetically, generate a sense of belonging, and contribute to the conversation you are a part of,” says the Windsor native.

These words resonated deeply, especially in a field like nursing, where collaboration and advocacy are essential.

Her belief in the power of human connection fuelled her decision to start a career in nursing. She shares the idea that nursing is a privilege, given the opportunity to care for individuals during their most vulnerable moments.

“Honesty and integrity lead to trust and trust is essential in patient relationships,” says Wellington. “Nurses cannot lose sight of that as the connections your forge with your patients leave lasting impressions.”

She appreciates the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence to streamline workplace processes but stresses the importance of balance. She voices concern about how too much technology can affect genuine human interaction — an element vital for expressing sincere compassion to individuals and their families during hospital visits.

“We spend a lot of time with patients, and they remember feelings of what they went through,” she says. “The delivery of good news, bad news, the support that’s given to the family. It is vital in nursing education to always prioritize compassionate care and relationship-building, even in a tech-driven environment.”

Wellington values mentorship and hopes to see more nurses making an impact in non-traditional nursing settings such as in high executive roles, health-care analytics, advocacy, research, and compliance. The pandemic affected nursing, and she believes that informing prospective students about opportunities beyond conventional jobs can revitalize a profession in desperate need to meet health-care demands.

“I have a career for life that I am blessed to serve every day,” she says. “I’m an example of how you can make contributions outside of standard nursing paths.”

In addition to her current post at Henry Ford Health System, Wellington’s other appointments include:

• vice-president – system primary health & chief operations officer - behavioral health
• vice-president operations – Henry Ford Hospital
• senior administrator manager (women’s health, dermatology, genetics, urology, primary care, and pediatrics)
• nurse administrator – Henry Ford Hospital
• nurse administrator – Primary Care

Wellington has also served in various roles and received honours such as:

• Top 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women
• Career Mastered National Women’s award 2024
• advisory board member, the Centre for Executive and Professional Development, University of Windsor
• board of directors, Ontario Hospital Association, vice-chair – governance & nominating committee
• fellow, Carol Emmott Fellowship (inaugural class)
• fellow of American Hospital Association
• keynote speaker for International Women’s Day Gala 2018, Windsor-Essex County
• MBA community champion recipient 2019 – Odette School of Business

Wellington understands and takes pride in the fact that she’s a nurse first, noting that it’s a fantastic field of work where there is no shortage of action.

“You truly can make an impact on not only those that you serve, but your workplace partners because it takes a team to provide great care to even just one patient,” says Wellington. “And use your voice constructively. It matters.”

Windsor Law will celebrate Black History Month on Tuesday, Feb. 4, touring exhibits at Art Windsor-Essex.

On display are North is Freedom: Descendants of Freedom-Seekers on the Underground Railroad, a photographic essay about descendants of freedom-seekers who escaped slavery in the United States in the years before the American Civil War, and Black Drones in the Hive, in which artist Deanna Bowen combines historical texts, petitions, and archives ranging from the local to international to weave together narrative threads of migration, power networks, and hierarchies of remembrance.

The gallery is located at 401 Riverside Dr. West. Law students will tour Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m.

A focus on private property and generational wealth seems central to discussions of remedying past wrongs from the period of slavery and colonization, says Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar Kyle T. Mays.

However, since the core idea of property rights in the U.S. was based on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and the enslavement of African peoples, he rejects seeking reparations in this form.

An Afro-Indigenous professor of African American studies, American Indian studies, and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Mays will explore these ideas in a free public lecture, “Reparations and decolonization: a critique,” Tuesday, Feb. 4.

He is the author of Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in Indigenous North America, An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States, and City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit.

Tuesday’s lecture begins at 7 p.m. in the Armouries Building at 37 University Ave. East and is sponsored by the Department of History.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of civil rights activist Rosa Parks’ refusal to be seated in a segregated section of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks’ refusal and subsequent arrest helped bring attention to issues of racial discrimination in the United States and around the world.

A panel will discuss her legacy in a free public event sponsored by Assumption University on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

“Rosa Parks: Race, Religion, and Resistance” will feature:

• Erica Thedford, Parks’ great-niece and a board member of the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation;
• artist, community historian, and activist Lana Talbot;
• Shetina Jones, UWindsor associate vice-president student experience; and
• Michael Brown, team lead of the Ujima initiative supporting Black youth enrolled in United Way’s On Track to Success program;

moderated by John Cappucci, Stephen A. Jarislowky Chair in Religion and Conflict at Assumption University.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Caribbean Centre, 2410 Central Ave.