Going back to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, there were many firsts – Japan became the first country in Asia to host an Olympic Games, volleyball became the first sport to feature a women’s team, and Judo made its first appearance at the quadrennial event. Among these firsts, there was a significant one for Canada. 

At the height of the civil rights movement taking place in North America, Barry Howson -- from London, Ontario -- became the first Black person to play Basketball for Canada at an Olympic Games.

The context of the civil rights movement is important because much of Howson’s journey to the Olympics was paved by the actions of his mother, Christine Jenkins, who played a huge role in fighting for the rights of Blacks in North America.

“My mother was an amazing woman,” says Howson. “She had nine children, eight with her first husband James Jenkins. Not only did she raise us all to be successful, she also supported the Black community in London and across Canada.”

Christine Jenkins and her first husband, James Jenkins, co-founded the Dawn of Tomorrow, a pioneering newspaper for Black readers. The newspaper was published in London, Ontario, serving Black communities across southern Ontario.

“It was the first Black newspaper in London and was developed to support Blacks who came to southern Ontario through the underground railroad,” says Howson.

The newspaper reported on Black celebrities, wedding announcements, social notes, inspirational poetry, and civil rights activism. One of the first stories to appear in the paper was about a London restaurant that refused service to Black customers. 

The Dawn of Tomorrow was an important fixture in the Black community at the time, but in 1931, during the Great Depression, an untimely illness nearly led to the paper never being published again.

“Mr. Jenkins had developed appendicitis,” says Howson. “According to my family, they rushed him to a clinic on a Friday night, and when they knocked on the door, the doctor who answered appeared to be drunk. The clinic took him in, and later, his appendix burst and James Jenkins passed away. Here is my mother in the early 30s; she has eight kids; what is she going to do? How was she going to feed her children?”

Determined to take care of her family and serve the Black community, Howson’s mom decided to continue to publish the newspaper. With help from her family, the Dawn of Tomorrow would survive for another forty years, selling the stories and sharing the successes of Black communities across Canada.

Christine Jenkins’ determination, work ethic, family values and dedication to her community are the characteristics and traits she would hand down to her children that led them all to be successful in their own right.

And those are the same values that drove Howson throughout his life.

“I worked hard at everything I did,” says Howson. “I really didn’t know any other way.”

Barry was good at baseball and track and field, but basketball was where he found his most success. From a young man growing up in London to representing Canada at the 1964 Olympics, Howson's path was not straight but determined.

“On the playgrounds in London when I was growing up, we played this basketball game called 21. If you swished a shot from the free throw line, you would get three points. If the ball missed and bounced, you had to get it before the second bounce. You had to then shoot the ball from where you got it. If it went in, you got one point. It was hard to score outside because we had no nets, but we would play for hours.”

‍

To get better at basketball, Barry made a basket out of a wine barrel and hung it up at his house so he could practice shooting all the time.

In grade eight, his school team won the city championships, yet he didn’t make the varsity basketball team in grade nine.

“At the time, I felt I was cut because I was skinny,’ says Howson. “I was like 98 pounds but could run like a deer.”

Howson acknowledges that the varsity team had many returning players from a team that just won a championship. Instead of pouting, he decided to work harder.

“I got cut from the grade nine team. Did I pack it in? No. I had a YMCA membership, and on Saturday mornings, I would go work out with the basketball instructors they had there and then go scrimmage after that. This is where I got better at basketball.”

In grade ten, Howson made the basketball team. When a teammate got hurt, he had an opportunity to play and made the most of that opportunity.

By the end of the season, Howson was the second-leading scorer on the team. In grade 11, he volunteered to play centre on the varsity team. At 6'2, he was tall, fast, and able to dominate other centres. He became an All-Star and led his team to an All-Ontario Championship.

After high school, Howson had offers to go play basketball in the U.S.

“I had offers to play at Bowling Green, Canisius and a few others. I also had some offers for track and field. I was going to take one of them because I couldn’t afford to pay tuition in Canada, but the alumni at Western offered to pay my tuition so I could stay in London and play at Western.”

At Western, Howson was coached by two coaching legends -- Jack Fairs and John Metras. The team won two Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association (OQAA) championships while Howson played for Western.

After University, Howson played for the Toronto Dow Kings, winners of the 1963-1964 Canadian Senior Men’s Basketball Championships. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COA) decided not to send a basketball team to the Olympics in 1964 but told the Dow Kings team that they could enter an Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan at their own expense. If they qualified, they could represent Canada.

At the qualifying tournament, 12 teams were competing for two spots. Canada went 7-2, which was not enough to get into the Olympics, but fortune smiled on them. Two other countries dropped out of the Olympics, and Canada received one of those spots.

Canada competed in basketball at the 1964 Olympics, and Howson became the first Black player to represent Canada at an Olympic Basketball event. 

The team went 1-8 at the Tokyo games, but Howson says this was an experience he will never forget. He still has his jersey from the ‘64 Games.

Sixty years after the Tokyo Olympics, Howson says he never really thought much about being the first Black person to play basketball for Canada; he was just happy he was playing basketball.

“My motto was just give it your best and work hard.” Lessons he learned well from his mother Christine.

And look where that got him -- a spot in Canadian basketball history.