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Ryerson alumnus Jerome Morgan learned to fight from his family.

His mother and grandmother raised him to stand up against injustice and fight for what’s right no matter what.

“I was raised with certain values. Not everyone has a voice and I hold some power in certain spaces to be a voice for them,” Morgan said. “This is important to society and if I’m not helping to do something, are we just talking about it? I’m helping to put words into action. It’s more about working with people to better the cause.”

Morgan’s cause is the fight against racism and his advocacy in the community and at Ryerson has earned him the prestigious 2011 Lincoln M. Alexander Community Provincial Award.

The psychology graduate '11 is no stranger to receiving accolades. In April 2011, he was one of 66 students to receive a Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award for his strong academic achievements and dedicated volunteer work. While at Ryerson he was president of the United Black Students at Ryerson group and was a youth ambassador for three years for the Tri-Mentoring First Generation program. In the community, he’s co-ordinated free art programs for the Art Starts Neighbourhood Cultural Centre in the Lawrence Heights area and volunteered for Schools Without Borders, an organization that supports a global network of grassroots educators and learning communities. Morgan was also a youth representative for the international advocacy group, Human Rights Watch.

“I didn’t expect to win – it came by surprise. Lincoln Alexander stands for excellence so it means a lot to me to win this award,” Morgan said. “The little success that I’ve had isn’t the merit of all my doing. It comes from others who have helped me along the way and mentored me to create the path I’m on. It’s not a one-person commitment.”

Kabir Abdurrahman, coordinator for mentoring programs and community projects in the Tri-Mentoring office, nominated Morgan for the provincial honour.

“In addition to his international involvement, Jerome is very perceptive to the needs of youth, particularly African and Caribbean youth locally and across Canada,” Abdurrahman said. “He attributes this passion to his identity of Jamaican Maroon immigrating to Canada and experiencing the trials and tribulations faced by racialized and underprivileged peoples. Identifying as a strong black leader, Jerome decided at a very early age to ensure his five younger siblings and all racialized persons understood the value of education through leading by example.”

Morgan is currently completing a master’s in environmental studies at York University. He’s part of ACE, which is comprised of students at York University who organize events, campaigns, workshops and lecture series about equity, specifically along the lines of race and marginalization; he’s on the York United Black Students’ Alliance; and is a member of the Environmental Studies Graduate Student Association. In his equity committee role, one of his goals is to advocate for a diverse faculty that not only represents the student body but also hold a wide-ranging portfolio of research to  give students more options for graduate work and research assistant positions.

Morgan recognizes that being a university student helps his fight against racism.

“From a research perspective, being in university provides an environment where articles, professors and social justice groups are at your finger tips.  In university you’re around different people who have various perspectives which provide an opportunity to learn, teach and challenge within the conversations around race and equity. It also provides a space to develop networks, learn skills and be around individuals who are passionate about fighting different types of injustice,” he said.