Black History 365, Honours Margaret Strachan

The Teacher Who Built Generations

By: Donovan Martin Sr, Editor in Chief

There are educators who deliver curriculum, and there are educators who build foundations that outlast them. Margaret Strachan understood that education was not a phase of life. It was the spine of it. Everything else, career, community service, leadership, even culture, rested on that belief.

Born in Vincennes, St. David’s, Grenada, she was shaped by a community where learning carried weight and discipline was an expression of care. When she and her husband emigrated to Canada in October 1968, they stepped into uncertainty with conviction rather than fear. The early years were not simple. There were barriers that tested resolve and systems that required persistence. She worked in health care and office administration while raising young children, absorbing the realities of immigrant life without allowing them to narrow her vision.

Then she made a defining decision. With her children still young, she returned to school and earned her Education degree from the University of Manitoba. That moment was more than academic achievement. It was a declaration inside her own household. Growth does not stop because life becomes busy. Excellence is not postponed. If education matters, you pursue it fully.

At Gordon Bell High School, she became known for her steady commitment to students who required additional support. Inclusion, for her, was not theoretical. It was daily work. Many of the young people she guided were navigating new countries, new expectations, and new identities. She understood that terrain personally. She set standards high, but she also built the scaffolding necessary to reach them. Students felt seen in her classroom. They felt challenged. They felt protected without being coddled.

Her approach was clear. Accountability builds confidence. Structure creates freedom. Compassion strengthens discipline rather than weakening it. Former students carried those lessons into their adult lives, into boardrooms, workshops, lecture halls, and community spaces. They did not simply remember what they learned. They remembered how she made them believe they could achieve.

The emphasis on education was not confined to the classroom. It shaped her home. Conversations, expectations, and everyday routines reflected the same principles she practiced professionally. That continuity matters, because legacy is most visible in what follows.

Her son, Larry Strachan, is an accomplished orchestral conductor, composer, and founder of Chamber Orchestra Without Borders Inc., an organization that connects cultures through music and collaboration. The discipline, global outlook, and commitment to building platforms for others echo the environment in which he was raised.

Her daughter, Dr. Leisha Strachan, became an educator whose influence ripples outward through the leaders, teachers, and professionals she mentors and forms. Through her teaching across disciplines, she continues a tradition where knowledge is not hoarded but passed forward with responsibility and care.

That transition from mother to mentor to model is seamless. The values did not shift between roles. They deepened. Beyond school and home, she helped build the wider community with the same intentionality. As a founding member of the Grenadian Association of Manitoba and the Council of Caribbean Organizations of Manitoba, she invested in structures that would sustain cultural identity across generations. She was instrumental in the realization of the Caribbean Cultural Centre, ensuring that heritage had a physical and lasting space. Her work with the Caribbean Pavilion at Folklorama and the Folk Arts Council of Manitoba reinforced representation that was active, organized, and respected.

Her faith life reflected the same steadiness. Serving as a lector, Eucharistic minister, catechism teacher, finance committee member, and treasurer within her parish communities, she approached service with preparation and accountability. Leadership, for her, was never loud. It was consistent.

Recognition came over time, including a King Charles III medal in 2025, a Premier’s Award for Volunteerism, an Award of Excellence from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and a Harambee Award from the Africa-Caribbean Association of Manitoba. These honours acknowledged a lifetime of sustained contribution, but they were never the objective. The objective was impact.

Margaret Strachan’s life demonstrates that education, when taken seriously, becomes architecture. It shapes homes. It shapes institutions. It shapes communities. It shapes children who grow into leaders. That is how history is built, not in headlines, but in habits, expectations, and the quiet insistence that learning is the most powerful inheritance a person can leave behind.

As we honour Black History 365, we recognize that legacy is not measured only in titles or awards, but in the minds strengthened, the standards raised, and the leaders formed through steady example. Margaret Strachan represents the enduring truth that education is one of the most powerful acts of community building. Her life reminds us that when one teacher commits fully to excellence, discipline, and compassion, generations move differently. That is not just remembrance. That is continuation.