The Rideau Glen Ladies League showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement last week, with an installation on the lawn of the golf club. Rideau Glen Ladies League President, Mary Garrett, said she was sickened and disgusted by the violence against black people she was hearing about on the news. As a symbolic gesture, she decided to ask all their members to tell her where they, or their families, originally came from. “We have about 100 ladies from diverse backgrounds and cultures,” she says.
With that information, she created an installation on the lawn at Rideau Glen Golf Club that displayed the flags of the 16 different countries, representing the backgrounds of their members. “We don’t have a person of colour in our group, but that doesn’t mean we can’t support,” she says. “It’s just a small gesture to keep the movement alive, because something has to be done.”
Mary is adamant that racism needs to be ad-dressed in Canada to improve the lives of black and indigenous people across the country. “It’s racism that has separated black people and indigenous people from joining us,” she says. “We need to treat people as human beings, not for the colour of their skin, or the religion they follow.”
Rideau Glen Golf Club Manager, Daniel Goss, was very supportive of their effort, saying that it would be a nice gesture. “It’s a small thing, but it will remind people to do something about it,” Mary says. “We have to start working at it
