Irma Belton (née Lipscombe) is a descendant of Alberta’s early Black communities. Born in Athabasca, she moved with her parents and siblings to Edmonton in 1958, shortly thereafter moving to Jasper Place.
The great granddaughter of a slave, Lipscombe was a member of one of many Black families that fled racism in Oklahoma to settle in Amber Valley in the early 1900s. Several of those families later moved to Jasper Place. She remembers muddy Jasper Place, the area’s pavements of wood, and landmark businesses that thrived in her teenage years.
Lipscombe’s parents worked for many business enterprises in Jasper Place. Her mother also worked at GWG and the University of Alberta Hospital.
While attending public school, Lipscombe and her siblings frequently had to defend themselves from racist comments and tauntings. She was strapped daily by a racist teacher until her mother threatened to report the teacher to the superintendent.
After graduating from school, the Lipscombe children’s options were at first limited because many employers refused to hire Blacks. No legislated human rights protections existed at the time. She worked as a retail clerk at London Drugs in St. Albert throughout most of that period, challenging racism from customers on the infrequent occasions where she faced it.
