Charles Roach, one of Caribana’s founders, dead at 79
Posted October 3, 2012 4:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
One of the founders of Toronto’s Caribana – now called the Caribbean Carnival – has died at the age of 79.
The Toronto Star reports Charles Roach died of brain cancer on Tuesday.
Roach was also a Toronto-based civil rights lawyer, as well as a leader and activist in the black community.
Arriving in Canada in 1955, Roach first studied to become a priest in Saskatchewan, before transferring to law at the University of Toronto. He was later appointed lead defence counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1998.
Roach was also known for refusing to take the oath to the Queen as part of Canada’s citizenship ceremony. In 1988, he started working to have the oath removed, and continued the fight until his death.
