It’s reasonable to expect that after a person has lived for a hundred years that they’d likely be too frail to do a number of things.
That age hasn’t stopped Ivyline Fleming from showing who she really is — dancing in her wheelchair at a birthday party held for her at the CHSLD Vigi Mont-Royal in the Montreal suburb, Town of Mont Royal.
“I feel very well,” she smiled. “I did not know that I would live to 100 years.”
The centenarian only retired from decades-long community service and civil rights activism at age 90, and then, only after ill health.
“She’s a force in the community, she’s a force in our family, anything you need she’s there for you,” stated her great-grandnephew, Rashawn Perry.
“She’s definitely a force of life, a force of love.”
Fleming made a name for herself as a fighter for Black communities in Montreal and across the country. She is a founding member of the Jamaica Association of Montreal, which was started in 1962. Fleming has been the only woman president in all that time but still made her mark, say members including current president, Mark Henry.
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“She spoke her mind, she led with her thoughts, how she felt, she stood up for what she believed in,” he told Global News.
Other friends point out that it was that drive which pushed her to create yet another organization, the Jamaican Canadian Community Women’s League, to advocate for the rights of women.
“It made a lot of difference because it means for us ladies, we have somewhere to go, someone to speak to if we are in trouble,” observed former board member of the organization, Lyn Williams.
The group was meant as a community resource for all women, regardless of their background, Fleming stressed.
“What you sow, you reap,” she said of the work she put into the organization and of the hundreds of young women she helped as a result. “I’m proud of my students and what they’ve accomplished.”
According to Lloyd Shaw, longtime friend, her dedication to service and community stems from the way she was brought up — to give without the expectation of anything in return. He noted, however, she was by no means a pushover. She has high standards.
“You can always depends on her, but if you tell her something today, make sure that you mean it because she doesn’t forget,” he laughed. “She’ll hold you to it.”
Fleming says she has seen some changes in society since she’s been an activist.
“Women have a better space in the country,” she observed.
She thinks there is still room for improvement when it comes to how she believes Black people are treated sometimes. But it wasn’t something she was willing to discuss at a party, suggesting instead, “Maybe we can talk more, privately.”
Fleming insists on continuing to fight for her principles and for the highest standards. Her message to youth and anyone in community service: “get an education and don’t give up.”
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