Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Hotel Zed Contest
    • It’s A Shore Thing Summer Getaway
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon

West Coast Traveller

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Hotel Zed Contest
    • It’s A Shore Thing Summer Getaway
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
You are here: Home / Travel / ‘We been here, we are here, and we will continue to be here.’

The BC Black History Awareness Society in partnership with the Royal BC Museum opened the new Pocket Gallery exhibition ‘Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum’ at an event on Aug. 14. (Photo: Amy Attas)

‘We been here, we are here, and we will continue to be here.’

August 18, 2021 //  by Amy Attas

Share this:

There’s a new exhibit in the Royal BC Museum’s Pocket Gallery, and it’s the perfect springboard for a new generation of BC travellers. Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum highlights the rich history and ongoing contributions of Black people across British Columbia. From pioneers on Salt Spring Island and prospectors in the gold rush to restaurant owners, teachers and lifeguards in Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley, travellers who start looking for Black history in BC will find inspirational stories across the province.

READ MORE: New Royal BC Museum pocket gallery exhibition reclaims BC Black history

At an event marking the exhibit’s opening, creators and contributors emphasized the importance of honouring these stories within the museum, an institution reckoning with its own colonial past.

“This exhibition must be the foundation of new stories we tell our children,” said Exhibition Writer Josh Robertson. “Looking with hope, meeting that hope with action, and creating a black space amongst the stone pillar white gates… Against erasure, stories of black prosperity.”

Exhibition Designer Rodney Hazard honoured Indigenous as well as Black history in the shapes and colours of the exhibit.

“I wanted to show the resilience across cultures, but also show that this land was divided differently before it was divided,” he said, noting that all of the fonts in the exhibit were created by Black designers.

Artist Sade Alexis created two illustrations for the exhibit, one featuring Canada’s first Black female MLA Rosemary Brown. Alexis, who grew up in Vancouver, says she’s spent most of her life being the only Black person in the room, and appreciated the opportunity to work on a Black-led project.

When travellers visit the exhibit or explore sites of significance around the province, they may stumble at first, comparing these stories to ones they’ve heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Viola Desmond. But Alexis has reflected a lot on whose stories get to be told.

“I think a lot of the times when we talk about Black history we’re always focusing on — is it the best, are they the first — but in reality, even just existing as a black person is extraordinary,” she said. “I think that seeing ourselves on these walls is so validating and inspiring. It’s telling people ‘We been here, we are here, and we will continue to be here.’”

Exhibition Writer Josh Robertson (left) and Exhibition Designer Rodney Hazard at the opening of ‘Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum.’ (Photo: Amy Attas)

6 places to connect with Black history in BC

  1. Kitimat: Climb Mount Clore or have a picnic next to the Clore River and you’ll be walking in the steps of Arthur Clore, who prospected in the north from Alaska to Telkwa.
  2. Prince George: When flooding stopped Jamaican prospector John Robert Giscome from reaching the Peace River, local Indigenous traders told him of an alternate route. Giscome made it to his goal — and the gold — and you can still walk the Giscome Portage today.
  3. Barkerville: A dentist, a barber and historian, and a poet who ran a laundry business — all members of the Black community in the gold rush town of Barkerville. Look for the sign for “Painless Tooth Extraction” on the main street — that’s the former office of Dr. William Allen Jones.
  4. Vancouver: Hogan’s Alley was home to much of Vancouver’s Black community until mid-twentieth century urban renewal demolished many of its buildings. Nora Hendrix, grandmother of Jimi Hendrix, cooked at the popular Vie’s Chicken restaurant and co-founded the city’s first Black church. Joe Fortes saved dozens of Vancouverites from drowning before the city gave him a job as lifeguard, where he taught hundreds of children how to swim. Learn more about his legacy when you visit the Joe Fortes Fountain in Alexandra Park at English Bay.
  5. Salt Spring Island: Black pioneers were among the first non-Indigenous people to settle on Salt Spring Island in the 1850s. Among them was Sylvia Stark, who was born into slavery and created a safe space for a growing family in BC. Her daughter Emma was Vancouver Island’s first Black teacher. Visit Salt Spring Island today and you can still connect to Sylvia and her descendants by taking a walk down Stark’s Road.
  6. Victoria: At the invitation of Governor Douglas, over 700 Black settlers travelled from San Francisco to settle on Vancouver Island. You can find many of their gravestones at Ross Bay Cemetery and Shady Creek United Church, a congregation founded by Black pioneers. Stand at the corner of Fort and Cook Streets and imagine Old Teenie, a Black pioneer and contemporary of Emily Carr, who lived on that corner in a house she’d cobbled together out of scrap wood and tin. Walk the Fort Victoria Brick Project and look for names of other early Black settlers like Samuel Ringo, who ran the popular Ringo’s Restaurant on Yates Street, and of course, check out the Royal BC Museum Pocket Gallery Hope Meets Action exhibit until Mar. 1, 2022.

Old Teenie was one of Victoria’s early Black pioneers, and a contemporary of Emily Carr. (Photo: Mrs. R. Maynard/Royal BC Museum) / Rosemary Brown was the first Black female MLA in Canada. (Illustration: Sade Alexis)

Plan your adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!

Share this:

Category: TravelTag: British Columbia Destinations, Canada, Family activities, Things to do, Victoria, WCT Intro

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

‘It took my breath away’: Lace up your hiking boots because spring is here

About a mile up the Heybrook Ridge trail, east of Everett, Wash., along Highway 2,…

‘It took my breath away’: Lace up your hiking boots because spring is hereRead More

Local knowledge: Discover why Kamloops is sensational in spring

Spring has finally sprung, bringing warmer, longer days perfect for outdoor pursuits – sans skis.…

Local knowledge: Discover why Kamloops is sensational in springRead More

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

Things will get wild on the streets of Victoria this month with life-sized driftwood animal…

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown VictoriaRead More

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

Spring’s arrival brings more than longer, sunnier days coaxing leaves from the trees. It’s the…

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delightsRead More

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous park

California has one campground among the nation’s 10 most difficult to book, according to a…

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous parkRead More

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and camping

By Jared Gendron, The News Tribune Beginning May 26, Mount Rainier National Park will only…

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and campingRead More

What to bring on a hike: WCT Travel Guide

Knowing what to bring on a hike can make all the difference between a wonderful…

What to bring on a hike: WCT Travel GuideRead More

You could spend a lifetime paddling here! Endless kayaking adventures await on southern Vancouver Island

Southern Vancouver Island is a world-class kayaking destination, with options along its endless, meandering coastline…

You could spend a lifetime paddling here! Endless kayaking adventures await on southern Vancouver IslandRead More

Travel on the Fly: A slushy good time spring skiing; Mountain-top beer festivities+ more!

From a Kootenay Beer Festival to a slushy end to a long, snowy spring ski…

Travel on the Fly: A slushy good time spring skiing; Mountain-top beer festivities+ more!Read More

Previous Post: « Local golf courses let you play a round in the great outdoors
Next Post: Online gift, gear and getaway auction boosts BC fish and wildlife conservation »

Primary Sidebar

Things To Do

‘It took my breath away’: Lace up your hiking boots because spring is here

March 27, 2023

Local knowledge: Discover why Kamloops is sensational in spring

March 27, 2023

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

March 22, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

March 21, 2023

Recent Posts

‘It took my breath away’: Lace up your hiking boots because spring is here

March 27, 2023

Local knowledge: Discover why Kamloops is sensational in spring

March 27, 2023

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

March 22, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

March 21, 2023

Footer

The West Coast Traveller has an immense social media footprint, with eight social media sites and and 125,000+ social followers.

Join us on social media and Join Our Community by sharing your stuff!

Get Inspired

News Media Groups

Black Press Media
Sound Publishing
Oahu Media Group
Alaska
Boulevard Magazines
Used.ca

Let’s Get Social

West Coast Traveller
I Love British Columbia
I Love Alberta
I Love Yukon
I Love Northwest Territories
I Love Washington
I Love California
I Love Oregon
I Love Alaska

Visit Our Companion Sites

I Love Saskatchewan
I Love Manitoba
I Love Nunavut
I Love Ontario
I Love Quebec
I Love Newfoundland and Labrador
I Love Nova Scotia
I Love New Brunswick
I Love Prince Edward Island

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon

Copyright © 2023 West Coast Traveller and · All Rights Reserved