A speech by Devon Clunis, Chief of Winnipeg Police Service at the Black History Month 2013 Launch Reception

“The Importance of Difference Makers”

Ottawa, Ontario
February 5, 2013

Thank you. I truly was humbled when I received the call asking me to attend this event. I thought, “Why me, truly?” – I don’t feel I’m anyone special. I have to tell you honestly that when I became a police officer I did not set out to make any type of history. I simply set out to make a difference by impacting the lives of young people in a positive way, the same way my life had been impacted.

I was initially driven by a desire to set an example for black youth in our city, to break the stereotypes seen in mainstream media of what it meant to be black. I soon realized that the need for role models crossed ethnic boundaries and that the youth didn’t care what you looked like, as long as you cared about them.

The main message I want to leave you with in the brief time we have together is that when given the opportunity, we have a responsibility to be a difference maker, particularly in the lives of young people.

Our ability to be difference makers is not dependent on our occupation, it’s certainly not dependent on our ancestry, it’s not dependent on our social status or any other limitations individuals or society may try to place on us. We simply need to make that our purpose, our driving desire, to make a difference, and set out to find a way.

In this very moment, I’m continuing to live my dream, my desire for making a difference.

I’m driven by the experiences of a little boy who immigrated to Canada in 1975, unsure of what the future had in store for him.

A little boy who was challenged by cultural upheaval, a little boy who was able to succeed, because individuals purposefully set out to make a difference in his life.

I always honor my mother as the first difference maker in my life because of her courage and sacrifice to leave our homeland of Jamaica, to find a new life in Canada. That took tremendous courage.

But teachers significantly impacted my life as well. The little boy in Grade 6, as I told you, struggled initially with the changes – not only the weather – but the cultural upheaval. I failed Grade 6.

A teacher, Mrs. Hannah – I’ll always remember her. She said, “Devon, if you would come to school an hour early every day, I’ll meet you.” So I would faithfully get up every day and I would join Mrs. Hannah an hour ahead of all the kids. And three years later, the little boy who failed Grade 6 with a teacher who dedicated time and effort to him graduated Grade 9 as the top student in his school because she made a difference.

I remember being in high school and playing basketball and being involved in sports and I would see these teachers who would dedicate so much of their extra time to be with us as young men and, I say, basically kept us on the straight and narrow because there were lots of opportunities to find ourselves doing the wrong thing. But because those teachers dedicated their time, they made a difference and my life stayed on the straight and narrow.

These individuals made a difference and as I came of age and began to understand life, I wanted to be like them. I wanted to give back and make a difference.

As a young person, I was profoundly aware of the depiction of blacks and other minorities in mainstream media. The stereotypical roles assigned to minorities were those of the “the bad guy, the less desirable.”

We know that young people can clothe themselves with damaging images manufactured by pop culture. My image of who we are as people of color was solidified when I watched the pivotal mini-series, ROOTS. I was in Grade 9.

Kids would tease me by calling me “Kunta Kinte,” the young African slave who was captured and brought to America. In spite of what he suffered, Kunta Kinte maintained his sense of pride and dignity. He refused to be broken.

As I watched that mini-series, the thing that dawned on my Grade 9 mind was, “Wow, we are a strong people. If we can survive that and still be here, I have a lot to be proud of.”

I remembered thinking to myself, we don’t always have to be “the bad guy” and I set out to exemplify that in my life. I determined I would do something to set an example for other children to follow.

I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to live this dream. I’ve been part of mentorships programs for youth of all ethnic backgrounds in our city.

It is important to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of black Canadians. It helps to counter some of the negative portrayal we still see in popular culture and help young people envision an alternate future.

We live in a great country. I live in one of the most ethnically diverse cities within this great country.

More than ever, Canada is a nation of immigrants. Cultural diversity is the strength and future of our country.

So my hope is this: that each person here will determine to be that difference maker in ensuring that everyone living within this amazing, amazing country, this cultural mosaic has the opportunity to contribute to the continued health and welfare of our country.

If not for those difference makers, I would not be here today. Let’s each and every single one of us determine to be a difference maker in the future of our country.

Thank you.