Updated: January 10, 2023 08:20 AM
Moira Stuart, left, and sister Sharon Davis-Murdoch were celebrated at a ceremony in Halifax. Here they are with Raymond Davis (aka Khalid Wasi) and his wife, Kelly Dow (Featured Photo)
The two granddaughters of Bermudian civil rights activist Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon were celebrated at an event in their honor while simultaneously receiving awards from their respective governments.
A ceremony was held Saturday at the African Cultural Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Moira Stuart, a former newsreader for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and her sister, Sharon Davis-Murdoch, co-founder and co-president of the Health Association of African-Canadians. .
Last year, Ms. Stuart was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, while Ms. Davis-Murdoch was appointed to the Order of Canada.
Ms Stuart began her career as a radio production assistant in the 1970s. She became a newsreader on BBC Radio 4 and later a presenter for The Andrew Marr Show, BBC Breakfast AND News After Noon.
She became the first black woman to read the news on British television in 1981.
Ms Stuart told the BBC at the time: “Over the years, from my first Radio 4 news bulletin in 1978 to my last. BBC news summary In 2018, I have been dedicated to public broadcasting, which has given me the opportunity to move barriers, open doors and change so many entrenched stereotypes.”
Ms. Davis-Murdoch, who was educated at Bermuda’s Mount St Agnes Academy, was praised for her work to eliminate systemic inequities in the Canadian health care system and said HAAC played a major role in that work.
The organization was formed in 2000 to address African Canadian health issues and disparities affecting health.
A report on www.cbc.ca said: “Born in the United Kingdom, Ms. Davis-Murdoch said she grew up in Bermuda, where she was influenced by ‘very politically astute people’ and had a Catholic education that emphasized service to the community.”
The Order of Canada honors those who make outstanding contributions to the country.
The sisters gave speeches of thanks to those in attendance as tributes were paid to the work they have done.
The woman’s grandfather, Dr Gordon, was born in Trinidad & Tobago and was a British-educated doctor. He arrived in Bermuda in the mid-1920s and became a labor leader and parliamentarian.
Bermuda Biographies said: “He championed the cause of Bermudian workers and fought tirelessly for equal rights for Black Bermudians, thus laying the foundations for many political and social changes that followed his death.”
