The Al Hamilton Award in Journalism

About the award:

To support the next generation of Black journalists and storytellers as they build their careers in this dynamic and exciting industry.

Al Hamilton was a trailblazing leader in the journalism and publishing industry at a time of extreme racial inequity in the Canadian media space. In 1969, he founded Contrast newspaper, Toronto’s first major publication serving the Black community. Contrast, described as the “eyes, ears and voice of Canada’s Black community,” was one of the first spaces that emerging Black journalists could go to build work experience and speak about issues that affected them. The Second Chance Scholarship Foundation created this award to support the next generation of Black journalists and storytellers like Al as they build their careers in this dynamic and exciting industry. The Second Chance Scholarship Foundation is a Canadian charity focused on helping at-risk youth achieve their highest potential through education, mentoring, and social responsibility programs. Second Chance strives to provide support to young people to help them overcome barriers they have faced and gives them access to opportunities to help pursue their dreams.