Whims, Ralph

Ralph Whims is a retired teacher living in Sainte-Julie, Quebec. Whims was one of the first Black teachers working in Montreal’s English school system, and he spent his career at Lorne School in Pointe-Saint-Charles. Whims developed an interest in social work and teaching while involved with the Negro Community Centre. He attended the Negro Community Centre as a child and sat on the board of directors from 1994 to 1997. In the 1970s, Whims organized a weekly dance for high school kids. His experience as a chaperone at these dances was the subject of the documentary film The Chaperone (2013). This film chronicles the day that Whims took on a biker gang that showed up at a school dance taking place at Rosemont High School in the early 1970s. As a side business, Whims worked as a disc jockey in the 1960s and 1970s, and had what he describes as a “mobile discotheque.” Whims mother, Bernice Jordan Whims, inspired him to work in music, and as a child he started a band with two friends. Whims played the alto saxophone in a band with jazz drummer Norman Marshall Villeneuve. Whims had two daughters with his late wife Suzanne Trudel Whims. His grandfather was jazz pianist Lou Hooper Sr. His father was Lou Hooper Jr.

Created 2018-07-09