Mayor Daurene Lewis

"After the drowning death of Albert Lewis in 1882, the business was carried on by his son, James, as James Lewis & Son. Under Albert’s grandson, James Lewis Jr., the firm bought its first truck. As Lewis Transfer, the company survived as a black-owned business until the death of James Lewis in 1960. James’ daughter Daurene Lewis became the first Black mayor in Canada when she was elected Mayor of Annapolis Royal in the 1980s. "

"Daurene Lewis’ (paternal)* family came to Nova Scotia between 1783 and 1785 aboard one of dozens of ships that left New York City after the end of the American Revolution. Those ships carried thousands of black men, women, and children who chose to leave the newly formed United States of America rather than live as second-class citizens or be returned to slavery - the were called “Black Loyalists.”*

Two hundred years later, Ms. Lewis would become the mayor of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Her 1984 election would make her the first black mayor in the province and the first black woman to govern a town in Canadian history.

Trained as a nurse, she would become involved in politics in her mid-30s winning a seat on the Annapolis Royal Town Council. Unfortunately after her term as mayor she ran for a seat in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and lost.

Daurene Lewis, who died at the age of 68 on January 26, 2013, was a recipient of the United Nations Global Citizenship Award in 1995 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2002. She also was part of the torch relay leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Sources: Toronto Globe and Mail, The Ontario Black History Society, Wikipedia, and the Nova Scotia Museum

• *Her maternal side of the family came from the BWI via Bermuda

honors and employment

Lewis was a member of the Order of Canada, a nurse, and held a PhD. She was also the principal at the Leeds Street campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.

She chaired the Africville Heritage Trust when it was establishing the rebuilt Seaview United Baptist Church.
For the Seaview Baptist Church see youtube video, 13 minutes in