A Prince Edward Island community organizer who led thousands in the island’s largest peaceful protest has become the first recipient of a new provincial honour recognizing anti-racism leadership.
Tamara Steele received the Anti-Racism Recognition Award from the Government of Prince Edward Island, an honour created under the Anti-Racism Action Plan for Prince Edward Island 2023–2028. The award recognizes individuals whose dedication drives measurable change in building more inclusive communities.
“Instead of just saying ‘racism is bad,’ we’re saying ‘anti-racism is good’ and celebrating the progress being made toward a more inclusive and accepting society,” Steele says. “The award recognizes how these efforts contribute to meaningful change.”
A track record of community action
Steele became more actively involved in anti-racism work after joining the Black Cultural Society of PEI in 2018, eventually serving as executive director and board member. She organized the Black Lives Matter march in June 2020, which drew thousands of participants and remains PEI’s largest peaceful protest on record.
That event prompted government to create an anti-racism policy advisor role and establish the Anti-Racism Table, a body tasked with identifying actions to address systemic racism in the province.
Recognition spans five years
Steele’s work has earned recognition at multiple levels. She appeared in Chatelaine Magazine’s September 2020 list of 33 Black Canadians Making Change Now. She has since received the Fusion Charlottetown Community Organizer Award (2021), the PEI Museum Heritage Award (2022), the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2023), and the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025).
A call for ongoing education
Steele says the new award can motivate others to get involved and demonstrates the province’s commitment to the work.
“This award has the potential to motivate people and organizations to keep going or get involved and it shows how important this work is to the province,” she says. “Its creation can make a meaningful impact in the community.”
She encourages people to approach anti-racism education with an open mind and a willingness to challenge their own assumptions.
“If you’re going into lessons not prepared to unlearn concepts and thought processes and mindsets that you don’t already know are wrong and harmful to others, then you’re not going to fully absorb the lesson,” Steele says.
She adds that learning must translate into action. “By applying that education to your everyday life, you’re doing the work and it can start at the individual level before expanding,” she says. “For example, listening to people’s stories to understand them and not just waiting for your turn to talk.”
Steele says her most recent award marks a meaningful close to her chapter with the Black Cultural Society of PEI, though her commitment to anti-racism will continue to shape all of her work going forward.
“The work never stops and it’s so important to continue driving anti-racism change,” she says. “As many people as there are learning anti-racism, there are just as many teaching their children hate.”
