On the Radar
RADAR | THE LOCALER
Growing Alberta
Once a refugee, Samuel Juru is helping to build a better province — for all.
By Bob Nelson
WHEN SAMUEL JURU JOINED Edmonton’s Africa Centre as executive director in 2023, the non-profit immigrant support centre had a staff of 25. Every one of them was working hard to help newcomers integrate and thrive in Alberta and the Western provinces. There’s now a staff of 50. “[The] growth has been exponential,” Juru says. This is partly due to the province’s rapidly growing number of Black residents. As of the last official census, Alberta was the province with the third-largest population of Black people, after Ontario and Québec. “With projections to become the largest,” adds Juru. Juru landed in Toronto at 25, a refugee from Zambia. He had a degree in communications, which didn’t mean much, as the lack of credential recognition from foreign institutions was — and still remains — a barrier. He added a degree in international development to his résumé, then a master’s degree in international political economy. He and his wife later moved to Edmonton, where he took a job under Mayor Don Iveson, tackling crises such as homelessness, addiction and mental health from an integrated and human-centric perspective. At the Africa Centre, Juru deployed the many skills he’s learned over various programs. One of the most important, he says, is entrepreneur development. “One of my jokes is that the best antidote to poverty and racism is creating wealth,” he says. It’s not really a joke. It’s the old “teach a person to fish” proverb, with a layer of socio-economic reality. He aims to apply that same philosophy as executive director of the Edmonton Newcomer Centre, a new opportunity he accepted this fall. The centre’s staff of 230 people speak 50 languages between them, and provide support to 17,000 people each year.
Meanwhile, Juru’s Africa Centre team will continue working with provincial and municipal governments to encourage the province to fund opportunities for Black newcomers. If Alberta is soon to have Canada’s largest Black population, he says, it’s a smart strategy to ensure they are set up for success.
That, says Juru, will benefit everyone.
Juru is executive director of the Edmonton Newcomer Centre. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF SAMUEL JURU
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RADAR | PLAYLIST
What Songs Do You Road-Trip to, Colleen Brown?
COMPILING A LIST of individual songs rather than complete albums seriously challenged Edmonton’s prolific Colleen Brown, who’s known for her own blend of folk, pop and rock. “I love the whole album experience,” the singer-songwriter says. “But I understand if you need to edit — except for Pharoah Sanders, as this album is basically one long song.”
So, what excites Brown’s ears? “I have some go-to albums after a couple decades of cross-Canada touring, either solo or with the Major Love band. These artists all have catalogues worth spending time with, and lend themselves well to wistfully staring out over the open plains… or white-knuckling a mountain snowstorm.” –Kim Hughes
Colleen Brown with Major Love bandmates Murray Wood, Trevor Mann and Shea Connor. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF RYAN PARKER
We are providing a preview of the artist’s playlist. The full playlist can be experienced directly on Spotify with a free account. Songs may not be appropriate for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.