Barbara Howard

Barbara Howard (May 8, 1920 – January 26, 2017) was a Canadian athlete and sprinter. She won two relay medals at the 1938 British Empire Games.

Life

Howard was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was the youngest of four children born to parents Catherine "Cassie" Scurry of Winnipeg and American Samuel Howard, a stationary engineer. Her father died when she was eight years old. The family lived in East Vancouver's Grandview neighbourhood.

She competed for Canada at the 1938 British Empire Games held in Sydney, Australia, and she is believed to be the first black woman to represent Canada in an international competition.

Only 17, she posted a time of 11.2 seconds at the Western Canada British Empire Games trials. Her performance in the Games was a disappointment to her - she finished sixth in the 100-yard dash - but did help Canada's 440-yard and 660-yard relay teams win silver and bronze medals respectively.

Although she intended to continue in her international track career, the outbreak of World War II meant that the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 were cancelled. "By the time international sporting contests resumed, Ms. Howard was beyond her prime."

She later became a teacher, and was the first member of a visible minority to be hired by the Vancouver School Board, where she taught for 43 years.