After decades in public service, she isn't slowing down any time soon

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the Black Changemakers.

Marlene Jennings is known as someone who isn't afraid to talk about the elephant in the room.

And at 70, now president of the Anglophone rights organization, the Quebec Community Groups Network, the former federal politician and a self-taught expert in governance and organizational change, Jennings has no plans to kick back and relax.

Born and raised in what is now part of the city of Longueuil on Montreal's South Shore, Jennings credits the household she was raised in for her drive to keep serving the public.

"I grew up where it was normal, in addition to raising your family and seeing to the needs of your family, to also be actively engaged in your community," said Jennings.

"I think it's part of my DNA."

Her father, Preston Jennings, worked as a sleeping-car porter for Canadian Pacific Railway. He was also involved in his union and in the Union United Church in Little Burgundy, and he ran his own business, cleaning cars and carpets.

"I watched my father participate actively in raising eight children, work to earn a living and build businesses on the side and also be very active in the community," Jennings said.

Her mother, Gilberte Garand, did all the cooking and cleaning without the aid of modern appliances. She was also active in her church, worked as a seamstress, designing outfits for her clients, and helped co-ordinate meals for children who were coming to school hungry.

Early in her career, Marlene Jennings worked as a Canada Post supervisor. She knew she wanted to be a lawyer, however, so she soon took a job as a mail clerk because their collective agreement allowed members to take unpaid leave while pursuing an education.

After graduating from law school, she worked at a small law firm for a year before being asked to join Quebec's police commission. She helped transform the commission into the police ethics board, where she sat as deputy commissioner.

After turning down an offer to run provincially, in the mid-1990s she was approached by the Liberal Party of Canada.

"I've always volunteered in organizations that have helped the most vulnerable and advocated for minority rights. But I never saw myself as an elected official," she said. It was her family who persuaded her she had something to offer in the House of Commons.

Rather than be acclaimed as the Liberal candidate in a South Shore riding, she opted to contest the nomination in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, where she said she felt more connected to residents.

She held that seat for 14 years, from 1997 until 2011.

After Quebec passed reforms consolidating the health-care system in 2015, Jennings helped manage the regional health authority responsible for centre-south Montreal, overseeing tens of thousands of employees. She still sits on that agency's board of directors.

In 2019, the provincial government appointed her as trustee of the English Montreal School Board, as the EMSB dealt with internal strife. That experience taught her much about how to bring about change in large institutions, said Jennings.

"The first step is doing one's homework: actually learning how the institution or the organization functions," she said.

That means listening to the people who work in the organization and know it best, she said.

"As a result of that, you get real buy-in for change. People become excited and energized because they see that they can be part of something that is important and can have a real positive impact."

She said while some changes take more than one lifetime to come to pass, that cannot stop people from acting now.

"I tell people, 'Don't get discouraged,'" she said. "Work for and advocate for something that you know can actually be changed in the short term. But retain your global vision of the overall change that you want."

"Each small change puts you that much closer to the overall change."

As she begins her eighth decade of life, Jennings says she wouldn't trade in all her experience to be young again.

"I love my life. I've loved every stage of my life, even when it was really difficult and heartbreaking. They're all experiences that made me who I am."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

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