Munk Debates | Straightspeak

When communities and the “Reporters’ Gallery Yonder” wither, the roots of democracy die.

By DHughes|2020-11-14T10:34:43-05:00November 14th, 2020|Categories: business, community, politics, social|Tags: Barry Rooke, Canadian Parliament, Canadian Press Gallery, Cathy Edwards, Cobourg, Dalton Camp, Edmund Burke, Globe and Mail, James Hamiltion, John Ralston Saul, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Munk Debates, Port Hope, Postmedia, Tip O'Neill, Torstar, Yanis Varoufakis|

Canadian democracy in decline: An essay (7 min read) “All politics is local." – Tip O'Neill I remember the day, November 27, 2017. A Monday morning. The sky was blue, the coffee fresh, my adrenalin flowing. I said to my computer, “Today’s the day.” For two years, I’d been writing a column in the daily newspaper, Northumberland Today––as a volunteer––and Read more...

Canadian Debate: Be it resolved, Donald Trump can make America great again

By DHughes|2016-12-10T00:40:54-05:00August 9th, 2016|Categories: business, politics|Tags: Aurea Foundation, Christopher Hitchens, Ian Bremmner, Jennifer Granholm, Laura Ingraham, Munk Debates, Newt Gingrich, Paul Krugman, Peter MUnk, Robert Reich, Trump|

Canadians mark the calendar, pay attention, this matters (2 minute read) Just a month before the US election and three days after the first Clinton-Trump debate at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, NY, Canada will have its own debate about Donald Trump and whether he is good, not so good or bad for "We the North" (not the Raptors, all of Read more...

My personal history is the stuff they write books about. And that's what I am doing. The working title "Five Generations to Freedom."

It's historical fiction because, unfortunately, I can not find enough records to substantiate all facets of the story. I've combed the genealogy, traveled to my father and grandmothers' birthplace, walked the graveyards, searched the churches and ... well, the facts just aren't there. I have written three books based on other families and their genealogy but my ancestors emerged from a journey that left few records – slavery.

My great grandmother, on my father's side, was a "freed slave." My grandmother, Amelia, was born to a white, French plantation owner in Grenada and a black slave named Mary, who worked on the Count de Poulain's plantation. Amelia was raised in her father's home and in adulthood, in an attempt to escape her black heritage, she "disowned" her mother Mary. Once, when Mary visited her daughter, Amelia told her, "Get out and never come back." And Amelia, as a mother herself (twelve children), told all of them, "Marry white." And many did, including my father. My mother was white Anglo-Saxon protestant born in England. They met in Canada where dad became a doctor.

It has taken five generations for the descendants of Mary (we do not know her last name) to free themselves from the bondage and stigma of their black heritage. But today, my children embrace it and are damn proud of it. Unfortunately, the 150 years in between has been a wasteland of bigotry, racism and bullying, Filled with anger, rejection, shame, fear, violence, murder and ... love, romance, kindness, perseverance and pride.