Ontario’s first Black MPP, the late Leonard Braithwaite proudly represented Etobicoke for 12-years and was so well-loved for his unselfish service that he is still talked about by residents today.

Braithwaite, or Lenny as he was affectionately called, represented the riding of Etobicoke while serving as a Liberal member of the Ontario legislature from 1963 to 1975. He was re-elected in 1967 and 1971 and served as a Liberal critic for labour and welfare.

The popular lawyer and Air Force veteran died in his beloved Etobicoke on March 2012. He was 88.

He captured a seat on his first run in 1963 by just 443 votes prompting a headline in the Toronto Daily Star that read: “Wins Etobicoke: Braithwaite Ontario’s First Negro MPP.”

Braithwaite is best known for his 1964 maiden speech to the Legislature in which he spoke passionately about the racial segregation that was taking place in some Ontario schools.

It seems incredible now, but Ontario in 1964 still had a law on its books mandating so-called “black schools,” which segregated students by colour.

Braithwaite would rarely back down in his many fights for the rights of visible minorities and gender equality.

Lenny was a graduate from the University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, graduating in 1952, and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1958.

He was the first Black lawyer elected as a member of the Governing Council of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The veteran would never forget about the racism that he faced at the time, during which he was armed with a first-rate education and spotless war record but could not find a job. It was back in the days when your photo had to be attached to a resume.

He was finally given a job working on the night shift at a chocolate factory after the plant’s foremen decided he could not turn away a war veteran.

Through the years he established a small law practice that he operated for many years.

Following his defeat in 1975, he returned to municipal politics, winning a spot on Etobicoke’s Board of Control.

Lenny managed to gain local fame by helping to erect the first sound barriers to absorb traffic noise between homes and highways in the Etobicoke area.