Rella Braithwaite

Rella A. Braithwaite
Born	(1923-01-29)January 29, 1923 Lebanon, Ontario, Canada
Died	July 23, 2019(2019-07-23) (aged 96)
Spouse	Bob Braithwaite
Children	Diana Braithwaite

Rella Aylestock Braithwaite (January 29, 1923 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian author.^[1]

She was born in Mapleton, Ontario, a descendant of Black pioneers who settled in the Queen's Bush area. Her ancestors escaped slavery in America through the Underground Railroad, and lived in the first African-Canadian pioneer settlement in Ontario.^[2] Braithwaite was educated in Listowel, Ontario. In 1946, she and her husband Bob settled in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough Township; she served on the local school board. She wrote a column on Black history for the Contrast newspaper. In 1975, Braithwaite published The Black Woman in Canada on outstanding Canadian Black women. She also helped the Ministry of Education in Ontario develop a Black Studies guide for use in the classroom.^[3][4][5][6]

Her daughter is singer Diana Braithwaite.^[5]

References

1. "RELLA BRAITHWAITE". Arbor Memorial. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
2. "Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley – The Registry Theatre". Registrytheatre.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
3. "Rella Aylestock Braithwaite". Black in Canada. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
4. "Toronto's 180th: 10 more people, suggested by Star readers". Toronto Star. May 7, 2014. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
5. "Artists, descendants pay tribute to Underground Railroad". Wellington Advertiser. Vol. 43, no. 33. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
6. "Foremothers of Black Women's Community Organizing in Toronto". Atlantis. 24 (2). 2009. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-02-03.