Geoffrey Canada biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Social activist and educator. Born January 13, 1952, in Harlem, New York City to parents McAlister and Mary Canada. Canada's father suffered from alcoholism, and his mother eventually left her husband to raise Geoffrey and his three brothers on her own. Finances were tight, and Canada's mother struggled support the family alone. She tutored her sons, restricted their television intake, instilled them with values, and took them to civil rights marches.

Although his mother eventually earned a master's degree from Harvard University, she struggled in the early years to support her children financially. As a result, Canada's early life was marked by poverty. Living in a poor, unsafe neighborhood, Canada had to learn street smarts to stay safe on the way home from school. Learning that it was better to fight than to be labeled a coward, Canada armed himself with a knife, which he always kept in his pocket.

A Promising Future

A bright child who excelled at school, Canada was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Freeport, New York at the age of 15. At Wyandanch High School, Canada won a scholarship to Bowdoin College. Upon completion of high school in 1970, Canada headed to college in Brunswick, Maine. While a sophomore, Canada married high school girlfriend Joyce Henderson. That same year, the couple welcome son, Jerry. The couple would later divorce, but Canada would continue to stay involved in Jerry's life.

Canada completed a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology in 1974, and entered the Harvard Graduate School of Education shortly thereafter, where he earned a master's degree. After graduation, inspired by his formative years in Harlem, Canada joined the faculty of the Robert White School, an alternative high school for troubled youth in Boston, Massachusetts. Canada excelled at reaching these students, and was often assigned responsibility for the most violent and unreachable pupils. By 1977, Canada had become director of Robert White.

Return to Harlem

In 1983, Canada returned to Harlem to help the children in his old neighborhood. He found work as the program director for the Rheedlen Institute's Truancy Prevention Program. The program was geared specifically for children between five and 12 years old who had been abused or neglected.

While at Rheedlen, Canada began expanding his methods of approach for counseling young children. A third-degree black belt, Canada opened his first martial arts school, the Chang Moo Kwon Tai Kwon Do Club, with the help of Rheedlen in 1983. Using martial arts as a teaching aid, Canada instructed children in strong conflict resolution skills and violence reduction techniques.