The long-awaited autobiography of former Canadian Senator, lawyer, and
outspoken spokesperson for diversity and minority advancement, detailing
his life as a Black man working within the system to bring change to
Nova Scotia and beyond.
Growing up in the only Black family in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Donald
Oliver felt duty-bound to honour his great-grandparents, who had fled
slavery in the US. His childhood, surrounded by music, family, and
respected, hard-working role models, was idyllic. His family's
fundamental family creed was "work hard, be humble, love the Lord, and
do all you can to help other people."
Donald Oliver would go on to embody those values in a big way. In his
long-anticipated memoir, Oliver, now retired, looks back at a life lived
in service to others. In his own careful and thoughtful words, he
examines his days as a lawyer, an outspoken social activist, and a
teacher, and of course he reflects on his twenty-three years of service
as a member of the Senate of Canada.
A diplomat to his core, Donald Oliver has dedicated his life to rooting
out the systemic racism that has stalled the growth of Canada's Black
citizens - his work a testament to the truth that Black Lives Matter.
Now, through dozens of black and white and colour images, and thorough
intimate, personal reflections, A Matter of Equality: The Exemplary
Life of Senator Don Oliver examines the legacy of the first man, and
the second Canadian, to bring the Black experience directly to the upper
house.
