In 1999, Dawn Williams felt that there were an absence of Canadian publications showcasing examples of the successes and contributions of prominent Canadians of African descent. She then spent the next three years researching and compiling content to produce a comprehensive snapshot of the contributions of successful prominent African-Canadians, encompassing every province and territory of Canada in both French and English, the country's two official languages.
In 2002, she self-published the first edition of Who's Who in Black Canada, featuring more than 500 profiles. In 2004, she completed and published the second edition of Who's Who in Black Canada.
In June 2010, Williams was approached by the design and branding firm The Ricardo McRae Agency (www.ricardomcrae.com) about taking over her project and publishing the profiles from the book online. After a series of discussions, they came to an agreement, and she transferred the ownership of the book content and the digital rights to the agency to The Ricardo McRae Agency.[1]
On August 1, 2010, www.WhosWhoinBlackCanada.com was officially launched.[2]
On January 15, 2015, The website was converted to a platform highlighting black excellence and re-branded as Black In Canada