Kay Livingstone

An activist and community leader, Livingstone’s journey began after the Second World War when she joined a Black women’s social club and transformed it into an advocacy organization focused on social and political challenges facing Black Canadians. The Dilettantes became the Canadian Negro Women’s Association in 1951 moving from organizing parties and teas to planning fundraisers for Black youth and Black history events. In the early 1970s, Livingstone also became a consultant for the Privy Council of Canada providing advice on issues relating to women, immigrants and education, and out of this work, coining the term “visible minority” to describe racialized communities often overlooked in Canada. Though she died in 1975, her work lived on: “visible minorities” was a prominent part of Canada’s Employment Equity Act in 1986.

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