The funeral for Toronto’s first Black female councillor, Beverley Salmon, will take place Thursday (July 20).

Once a trailblazer, activist, and community leader, her career as a nurse and community leader beginning in the 1950s carried her to her election win in 1985, in which she retained her North York seat until 1997.

She was a mentor, advisor, and critical contributor to many council committees and organizations, including the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR), which she founded, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

“As Toronto’s first Black woman to become a city councillor and a founding member of UARR, Bev was an extraordinary trailblazer who tirelessly ignited social change and amplified marginalized voices in our community,” the organization said on Twitter.

Additionally, Salmon was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2016 and the Order of Canada in 2017.

Other dignitaries spoke about Salmon’s passing, including NDP MPP Dr. Jill Andrew for Toronto—St. Paul’s.

“She was TO’s first Black woman city councillor and so much more,” Andrew said in a Twitter post. “Our community has lost a giant. May her footprint of leadership continue to inspire.”