Kay Livingstone

In November, 2017, the postal service announced Livingstone would appear on a postage stamp in 2018, as part of its ongoing series marking Black History Month in February. The stamp was issued on February 1, 2018, in London, Ontario, her birthplace.

In 2011, Livingstone was recognized by the federal government as a Person of National Historic Significance. A plaque reflecting that status was erected in 2017 near her Toronto home.

Just before her sudden death in 1975, she was working as a consultant for the Canadian Privy Council, helping to organize a national conference for visible minority women. Livingstone is credited with first using the term "visible minority".

The daughter of James and Christina Jenkins, she was born Kathleen Jenkins in London, Ontario. Her father was an assistant judge in the local juvenile court and her parents founded a newspaper Dawn of Tomorrow aimed at the black community. She studied music at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario and elocution at the Ottawa College of Music. During World War II, she worked for the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1942, she married George Livingstone; the couple had five children. While in Ottawa, she became the host of her own radio program, The Kathleen Livingstone Show. When the couple moved to Toronto, she hosted radio shows for several stations, including a CBC affiliate. In 1951, she founded a Toronto social club then known as The Dilettantes; it was soon renamed to the Canadian Negro Women’s Club, later the Canadian Negro Women’s Association (CANEWA), and Livingstone became its first president, serving from 1951 to 1953. The association began providing scholarships to encourage Black students to stay in school. CANEWA later organized the Calypso Carnival, which later became known as Caribana.

Kathleen "Kay" Livingstone (October 13, 1919 – 1975) was a social activist, actor and broadcaster. In 1973, her efforts led to the first National Congress of Black Women of Canada.