'I didn't know I was Black': February has extra meaning for former Blue Jay discovering his roots
CBC
Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Paul Hodgson has a couple of reasons to celebrate Family Day — and Black History Month, for that matter.
Hodgson grew up in the 1960s in Fredericton, where only a handful of Black families lived.
He made it onto the Jays in September 1980, only the second Canadian to play for the team.
That was around when his adoptive father took him aside, letting him in on a family secret.
"He says, 'Your mother doesn't know I'm doing this, but I feel that I have to tell you. You're getting married and there's a chance you could have a Black child.' I didn't know I was Black, I didn't know I was anything."
Living in the small town of Marysville, later part of Fredericton, Hodgson had always known he was adopted but hadn't asked many questions.
He had a darker complexion, and he'd get taunted.
"There were a bunch of kids in elementary school who were always calling me (the N-word). I thought they were just stupid, because I had a darker skin. My dad used to say to me that I had a dark complexion."
As far as he and almost everyone else thought, he was white.
"I grew up watching sports on TV, and watching Black players, I always thought, 'Wow, it would be cool to grow up with those genes.'"
Hodgson was signed by the Blue Jays in 1977, at 17.
The next three years in the minors, he'd meet and befriend Black and Latino players, including future Jays stars Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield.
"I always got along fine with them, I didn't have a problem. Did I look Black? I dunno, maybe, some. [Former Jay] Boomer Wells said he wasn't sure what I was, he just knew I wasn't a pure white guy.
"Jesse, Lloyd, it didn't matter to those guys, they didn't care what you were."
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree faced pointed questions Tuesday about why the federal government has deported one Iranian official, despite longstanding concerns about how the regime operates in Canada and abroad.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway and search warrants were executed on a number of properties including the homes of former mayor Jyoti Gondek, former councillor Sean Chu and sitting councillor Andre Chabot.
Toronto police say they are creating a counter-terrorism unit and a specialized task force that will see officers with semi-automatic rifles stationed at key locations in the city.
ATCO Ltd. says it's taking a 40 per cent ownership stake in the company building the Grays Bay Road and Port project.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he has no plans to change how judges are appointed in Canada despite four premiers writing to Prime Minister Mark Carney to ask for more of a say in the process.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway and at least one current and one former Calgary city councillor, as well as a business were subject to search warrants executed last week, CBC News has learned.
Ontario’s education minister is telling school boards to ensure their upcoming graduation ceremonies don’t express any “political views” or “engage in divisive or contentious issues of any kind,” according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News.
A new daily non-stop flight between Charlottetown and Montreal is set to begin this summer.
The Crown has dropped mischief charges for a second time against a London, Ont., doctor accused of spraying ketchup on the office of a local MP during a 2024 protest.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway into at least one current Calgary city councillor as well as a business, CBC News has learned.
Much of Newfoundland is digging out of a blustery and messy day as another storm slams into the island.
Timiskaming—Cochrane MPP John Vanthof recalls the meeting in Thunder Bay earlier this month. He was part of the nine-day road trip along Highways 11 and 17 with other NDP MPPs.
A bill before the Nova Scotia Legislature is proposing raising the age limit for support for young people who have been in the foster care or group home system to 26.