Lobbying for a Better Society
He immigrated to Canada, 1955. After graduating, B.Sc., McGill University, and earning an Ontario High School Teacher’s Certificate, Brandeis Denham Jolly, born, Green Island, Jamaica, worked on nutrition research for the Government of Jamaica and air pollution research for Metropolitan Toronto before becoming a teacher of Chemistry and Physics, Forest Hill Collegiate, Toronto. He then went into business, owning and operating two medical diagnostic companies, 1978-83, and a Days Inn, West Toronto, 1987-97. At present, he is President, Denham Corporation Ltd. and Tyndall Nursing Home Limited which owns a Nursing Home by that name as well as Tyndall Estates Retirement Home, Mississauga, Ontario. B.D. Jolly Holdings is another company with real estate properties in both Mississauga and Toronto. Between 1982-85, he was the publisher of Contrast, a weekly BlackCommunity newspaper, and was the founder and first President of the Black Business and Professional Association of Toronto, one of the many community activities Mr. Jolly has been involved in as an Ontario businessman. These include: Member, Board of Governors, Central “Y”, 1993-95; Committee for Due Process; Jamaican Canadian Association; Harriet Tubman Games; Caribana; the Daphne Dacosta Cancer Association; Black Inmates Organization; Black Action-Defence Committee; Jane-Finch Concerned Citizens; and a founding member of the Cornwall College Old Boys Association, Toronto. A strong lobbyist for an all-Black radio station in Toronto, Mr. Jolly’s involvement has been recognized by a number of organizations including the Black History Society’s Daniel G. Hill Community Service Award, 1998, and the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal on the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. In this view, Denham Jolly meets with Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto, at the opening of the Jamaican Canadian Community Centre, Downsview, Ontario, 1999. [Photo, courtesy B. Denham Jolly]