‘You plant a seed and you never know what it will lead to’

Clothilda Clifton was a week from her twenty-first birthday when she landed in Montreal from Trinidad and Tobago. It was late November 1968.

Her new life began in Côte-des-Neiges, a neighbourhood popular with West Indian immigrants, and at Montreal High, where she went to complete her secondary schooling.

When a neighbour encouraged Clifton to apply to university as a mature student, her life took a decisive turn.

“If not for Concordia, I would have stayed at the same level of education and employment,” she says.

Clifton soon met an ambitious young man, Kelvin Newton, who had been a teacher in Trinidad and Tobago. Marriage followed and she became Claire Clifton-Newton. The newlyweds enrolled as full-time students at Concordia; Clifton-Newton received her BA (applied social sciences) in 1977 and Newton his BComm (accountancy) the same year.

The couple was a fixture at the offices of the Caribbean Students Union.

“[The CSU] was very strong at that time,” says Clifton-Newton. “Lasting friendships were created. We held a reunion at our house not too long ago and former members came from all over — even overseas.”

Notable guests at the reunion included Concordia luminaries Roland Wills, former associate dean, Commerce and Administration, and Dorothy Wills, LLD 89.

By the time Clifton-Newton entered McGill’s social work program, her first child, Aisha, was six months old. The subsequent news that Clifton-Newton was pregnant with twins and needed bedrest did not deter her — she graduated with her second bachelor’s in 1980. She then stayed home to raise Aisha and twins Akilah and Omari while Kelvin worked in accounting.

Clifton-Newton eventually returned to the workforce at what became Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, the government-funded child and family welfare agency. While the work could be stressful and difficult, the job came with rewards, too.

Clifton-Newton organized an annual show at Batshaw that showcased the talents of black youth, many of whom affectionately called her “Auntie Claire.”

“Claire’s a fearless and staunch advocate for equity, recognition and celebration of black professionals,” says Varda Mann-Feder, professor of applied human sciences at Concordia.

“She worked for many years as a child protection worker and became a trainer of other workers. I always admired her tirelessness, forthrightness and ability to take on difficult issues.​”