February is Black History Month
/Every February, people across Canada honor the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. This years' theme for Black History Month is: “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day”, which focuses on recognizing the daily contributions of Black Canadians to Canada.
The Young Women in Business (YWiB) Vancouver team would like to share some resources that are important to us and events that we find inspiring.
Vancouver City Council passed a motion in 2011 declaring Black History Month as one of its official holidays. As part of their community work, they created a list of Hometown Heroes to honor 10 Black BC residents and organizations shaping our community through activism. Browse through the list: Give Them Their Flowers: Celebrating Vancouver's Hometown Heroes.
The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) recently launched the Black Business Direct — the latest national digital directory by a national Black led non-profit organization to support Black entrepreneurs across the country. Find businesses in categories such as marketing, legal, event & entertainment, technology, real estate and more.
The Royal BC Museum in Victoria is currently showing the exhibition "Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum". It's an exhibition written, told and curated by Black voices. It follows the question "How can we better understand the experiences and contributions of Black British Columbians to correct historical erasure?" The exhibition is open until March 31 and was created in partnership with the BC Black History Awareness Society in 2021.
And for all bookworms: The website Goodreads has created a fabulous list of books by Black authors from all kinds of genres. We have added a few of those titles to our own reading list, for example "Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?" by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, "Black Cake'' by
Charmaine Wilkerson or “Must Love Books” by Shauna Robinson. Find the complete list here.
YWiB Vancouver is soon launching a book club focusing on diversity and inclusion. Contact us to learn more or register your interest.
Do you have resources or events you would like to share? Leave a comment below or share them with us on Social Media.
Blog Post by Nina Bader, Diversity & Inclusion Facilitator at Young Women in Business Vancouver.