Lyle Talbot

Memoir of a Black Canadian Activist Lyle Talbot

This memoir, as a racial history, details the life experience Lyle Emerson Talbot, a black man born near Dresden, Ontario. His story opens with a report of a racist incident involving his father that demonstrated how racism impacted Talbot even before he was born. Racial issues dotted his life until his retirement from the work world, but Talbot did not let these experiences defeat him. He was a pioneer in activist organizations at both the local and national level including participating in the first sit-ins in North America. On the personal level he took on such giants as the Ford Motor Company, the real estate industry in Windsor, Ontario and even the federal government. Interspersed with these elements are lively anecdotes that provide enlightening reading on the life and times of a black male growing up and working during a major segment of twentieth century southwestern Ontario. The reader can share Talbot's joys, frustrations and sorrows and even laugh at some of the humourous events described.