Alvin Ladd
Alvin Ladd was born in 1920 to Edward Ladd and Yvonne Poole. Following military service during World War II, Ladd worked for the City of Chatham.
Like other Black men who had served during the war, Ladd returned home to find he was still treated as a second-class citizen. Experiences of racism and discrimination influenced Ladd’s participation as a founding member of the NUA.
On May 28, 1953, Ladd was refused service at the William Pitt Hotel in Chatham. He had been joined by two white friends and coworkers and served one round of drinks. However, when the group ordered again, they were advised their drinks would not be coming. According to Ladd, the waiter said, “I’m sorry, we can’t serve him [Ladd].” Ladd filed a complaint with the Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario (LLBO).
While these acts established a legal right to be free of discrimination, this right was not always respected or practiced. Some proprietors refused to adhere to the law (particularly in Dresden). Burnett submitted complaints to the Ministry of Labour resulting in an inquiry where the proprietors openly admitted to their racist actions. Despite overt contravention of the law, the Ministry did not pursue legal prosecution.
Legislation
Finding no support locally, the NUA joined a coalition of labour movement groups and groups representing marginalized communities (for example, the Toronto Joint Labour Committee to Combat Racial Intolerance and the Canadian Jewish Congress). The coalition had already been urging Premier Leslie Frost to pass legislation requiring fair practices in employment, housing, and public services regardless of race. Unfortunately, Frost would not guarantee any action.
The coalition undertook a province-wide campaign of approaching municipal governments to have laws passed in as many Ontario towns as they could. They were successful, and by demonstrating that there was support for this type of legislation, Frost was persuaded to introduce the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951. This act prohibited discrimination based on race and religion in employment, but it did not address the right to service in public businesses.
In February 1954 the LLBO found the William Pitt Hotel had not broken any laws and dismissed the case. However, this incident reawakened the public’s consciousness and created headlines in newspapers and inspired the coalition to renew their efforts. Their new focus was to have legislation enacted that prevented businesses from denying service.
This goal was realized with the Fair Accommodations Practices Act of 1954 that stated: “No person shall deny to any person or class of persons the accommodation, services or facilities available in any place to which the public is customarily admitted because of the race, creed, colour, nationality, ancestry or place of origin of such person or class of persons.”
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