Ruth Lor Malloy

Ruth Lor Malloy was born into a Chinese restaurant family in a small Canadian town. She was driven by curiosity and a wish to be useful. In 1954, she made headlines by helping bring the last case of service refusal to Black customers in Ontario to court. She planted fig trees in Mexico and painted houses for Inuit tuberculosis victims in the Canadian Arctic. She covered the war in Vietnam and hitchhiked through Afghanistan. Ruth wrote the first English-language guidebooks about post-Cultural Revolution China.

In 2023 at the age of 91, Ruth published her memoir, “Brightening My Corner”. York University gave her an honorary doctorate for her “tireless efforts to combat discrimination and promote equality.” Ruth also republished the 1997 booklet, “Hijras: Who We Are” that she helped write in a successful effort to give respect to a transgendered group of beggars in India. She continues to protest wrongs and brighten her corner. She hopes to inspire others to do the same.