Tillie Johnson, former market vendor and champion of Black youth education, honoured with plaque in Hamilton

A plaque celebrating Dr. Ethilda "Tillie" Johnson now hangs at the Hamilton Farmers' Market, close to where her stall used to be. Her smiling face featured in the image represents 43 years of market history.

The City of Hamilton and the Afro Canadian Caribbean Association (ACCA) unveiled the plaque on Sept. 22 with singing and words to celebrating herlife and the impact she had on Hamilton.

Members of the local Black community told stories and recounted Johnson's achievements, describing decades of entrepreneurship and charity.

Monte Green, a friend who spoke at the plaque unveiling, said "we are all part of her community, Miss Tillie lives within all of us."

Johnson opened her stall, Tilda's Tropical Delights,in the market in 1972 and was a key figure in theBlack community in the city. Days spent speaking with customersdeveloped into year-long relationships and established her asa prominent figure.

Until her retirement in 2015, one year before her death, Johnson ran thestall on the ground floor, selling tropical fruits, products and vegetables often to people who had never seen a mango or a passion fruit before, as her friends recalled.

Stories sharedat the unveiling revealedher strict approach to businessbut kind approach to talking with customers and the community.

Johnson was passionateaboutproviding education forlocal Black youth. She established the Tillie Johnson Scholarship Fund in 1997. Each scholarship provided about $800 for students in need.

"Everyone in the community recognizes the importance of education, she worked hard to make sure the young ones got educated," said Lloyd Turner.

"This was a woman who was selling bananas, plantains and yams with the commitment to raise money to give scholarships to needy students, when she could hardly take care of her own expenses," said Evelyn Myrie, president of the ACCA.

"She believed in education, she gave out 40 scholarships and counting to young Black students in the city of Hamilton."

Johnson also fileda complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 1983 "over racist remarks and actions. She took the case to the Ontario Divisional Court and won," read the pamphlet given to those attending the unveiling.

McMaster University gave Johnson an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree for her dedication and commitment to education in 2002.

Johnson was then also inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinctionfor her role as a community leader in 2006.

The plaque and ceremony were in the works fromthe moment of her retirement, efforts ledby ACCA's Anne Miller and Evelyn Myrie and the late Christopher Cutler, but was delayed due to COVIDrestrictions, according to the city.

Johnson's plaque now hangs on the ground floor of the farmers market, above the suggestion box and below a monitor that cycles through advertisements. It's the first thing customers wouldsee when theywalk down the ramp from York Boulevard.

"She was one of a kind. She was the type to never be scared to get in your face, that's the quality about her that I used to like," said Turner.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.