February 2023 marks Canada’s 28th official Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians. This year’s theme is “Ours to Tell,” encouraging all of us to amplify the lived experiences and stories of Black Canadians and to recognize the roles Black Canadians have played and continue to play in shaping our country.
The BC Black History Society and other local groups have organized a variety of exciting public events to celebrate Black History Month, featuring art, music, film, and more—find all the details here.
To learn more about how Black Canadians have made a difference in our local communities, this province and our country, please see the profiles below.
 | Lincoln Alexander Trailblazer Lincoln Alexander was a man of many firsts–first Black Member of Parliament in Canada, first Black federal cabinet minister and first person of colour to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. As a lawyer and throughout his political career he championed education and the elimination of racism and discrimination. In 2015, the Canadian government officially named January 21st Lincoln Alexander Day in honour of his many accomplishments. For more information: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Lincoln Alexander CBC News: Lincoln Alexander |
 | Emery Barnes Emery Barnes was a professional football player and provincial politician, who was the first Black person elected Speaker of the legislature in any province. Barnes moved to Vancouver in 1964 to play for the B.C. Lions. Following his football career he became a social worker before being elected MLA for Vancouver Centre in 1972 and Speaker in 1994. He is remembered as a strong advocate for marginalized communities, particularly in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. For more information: BC Lions: The Emery Barnes Story BC Black History Awareness Society: Emery Barnes |
| BC’s Black Pioneers In 1858, over 800 Black settlers arrived on Vancouver Island with the promise of political and land rights from Governor Sir James Douglas. Facing growing racism in California, many of these settlers thrived in B.C., despite facing discrimination and hardship. They left their mark in Victoria, Saanich, and on Salt Spring Island. For more information: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: First Black Settlers Arrive in Victoria BC's Black Pioneers |
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 | Grafton Tyler Brown Painter Grafton Tyler Brown is known as B.C.’s first professional Black artist and the first Black artist in the Pacific Northwest. Born in the United States, Tyler Brown moved to B.C. in 1882. In 2022, The Royal BC Museum purchased Tyler Brown’s painting Entrance to the Harbor, which was the signature painting in his 1883 exhibition, considered the first art exhibition in the City of Victoria. For more information: Grafton Tyler Brown: A Brief Biography BC Black History Awareness Society: Grafton Tyler Brown |
 | Rosemary Brown Rosemary Brown was a Canadian social worker, activist, and politician. A champion for the rights of women and Canadians of African and Caribbean ancestry, Brown was a founding member of the Vancouver Status of Women Council In the 1960s. In 1972 she was elected as MLA for Vancouver-Burrard, becoming the first Black woman elected to any provincial legislature in Canada. Brown dedicated her life to fighting oppression and helping others. Image: Royal BC Museum and Archives. For more information: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Rosemary Brown Legislative Assembly of BC: Rosemary Brown |
 | Eleanor Collins Eleanor Collins is a Canadian jazz singer, TV host and civic leader, known as the Canadian First Lady of Jazz. Born in Edmonton in 1919, Collins worked as a singer for CBC Radio in Vancouver, and hosted her own musical variety series, “The Eleanor Show”. She was the first musical artist of colour in North America to host her own national TV series. For more information: BC Black History Awareness Society: Eleanor Collins BC Entertainment Hall of Fame: Eleanor Collins |
 | Chloe Cooley Chloe Cooley was an enslaved Black woman living in Upper Canada in the late 18th century. Fearing the possibility of abolition in Canada, Cooley’s enslaver violently abducted and transported her to New York State despite her strong resistance. Witnesses provided government officials with first-hand accounts of the incident, which led to the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, part of the path to abolition. For more information: Heritage Minute: Chloe Cooley The Canadian Encyclopedia: Chloe Cooley |
 | Alphonso Davies Alphonso Davies is a professional soccer player and the first Canadian Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Davies was born in a Ghanian refugee camp to Liberian parents and resettled with his family in Edmonton in 2005. In 2015 he moved to Vancouver to join the Whitecaps FC Academy and has been named Canada Soccer Player of the year four times. For more information: UNHCR: Alphonso Davies Major League Soccer: Alphonso Davies |
 | Viola Desmond Viola Desmond was a Canadian business owner and activist who challenged our country’s unofficial segregation laws. After refusing to leave a Whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre, Desmond was arrested and jailed overnight. She appealed her conviction but was not officially pardoned in her lifetime. Desmond’s civil activism shone a light on the racism in her community. In 2018 she became the first Canadian woman on a regularly circulating $10 bill. For more information: Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Viola Desmond The Canadian Encyclopedia: Viola Desmond |
 | Sir James Douglas Known as “The Father of British Columbia”, Sir James Douglas was the colony of B.C.’s first governor. His father was a Scottish merchant and his mother was a free woman of Barbadian-Creole ancestry. Douglas served as Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, Governor of British Columbia, and Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company. His many acts include overseeing the construction of Fort Victoria and helping to establish an elected legislative assembly for the island. For more information: BC Black History Awareness Society: Sir James Douglas The Canadian Encyclopedia: Sir James Douglas |
 | Esi Edugyan Local writer Esi Edugyan has published four works and has won the Giller prize for Canadian fiction twice – in 2011 for Half-Blood Blues and in 2018 for Washington Black. Edugyan was writer-in-residence at Athabasca University in 2016 and was selected as chair of the Booker Prize jury in 2023. Edugyan also co-produced the TV adaptation of Washington Black, to be released by Hulu/Disney TV in Spring 2023. For more information: The Booker Prize: Esi Edugyan BC Black History Awareness Society: Esi Edugyan |
 | Joe Fortes Arriving in Vancouver in 1885, Seraphim Joseph Fortes was the city’s first official lifeguard. A popular fixture in Vancouver’s early history, Fortes is officially credited with having saved 29 lives but is believed to have saved more than 100 people from drowning. For more information: National Film Board animated short: Joe BC Black History Awareness Society: Joe Fortes |
 | Mifflin Wistar Gibbs Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was one of the Black pioneers who settled in Victoria in 1858, leaving California in protest of the discriminatory laws of the United States. Wistar Gibbs worked in Victoria as a merchant and was the first Black person elected to public office in British Columbia, serving on Victoria’s city council from 1867-1869. He also helped guide British Columbia into confederation. For more information: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Mifflin Wistar Gibbs Government of Canada: Mifflin Wistar Gibbs |
 | Barbara Howard Barbara Howard was an athlete and educator. Born and raised in Vancouver, she broke the British Empire record for the 100-yard dash at age 17 and is believed to be the first Black female athlete to represent Canada at an international competition (the British Empire Games). Howard became a teacher in 1941 and was the first person of colour to be hired by the Vancouver School Board. For more information: BC Sports Hall of Fame: Barbara Howard The Canadian Encyclopedia: Barbara Howard |
 | Harry Jerome Sprinter Harry Jerome won the 100-metre bronze at the 1964 Olympics and set seven world records in the course of his running career. After retiring as an athlete, Jerome taught in Richmond and Vancouver. He also helped create Canada’s Ministry of Sport at the request of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. For more information: Black athletes who made Olympic sport history in Canada National Film Board short: Harry Jerome: The Fastest Man on Earth |
 | Residents of Africville Africville was a small settlement on the outskirts of Halifax comprised of mainly Black settlers. Founded in the 1800s, Africville was a thriving community for hundreds of years. Racism and discrimination undermined the community–residents were denied basic municipal services like water and sewage. Africville was condemned in the late 1960s and residents were relocated, leading to protests. In 2010, the Mayor of Halifax publicly apologized for the razing of Africville. The Africville museum now stands as a monument to the racism and injustices Africville’s residents faced. For more information: Canadian Museum for Human Rights: The Story of Africville Africville Museum |
 | Emma Stark Emma Stark was the first Black teacher on Vancouver Island. Born in California in 1856, she moved with her family to Salt Spring Island at age 4 and then to Cedar, near Nanaimo, where she completed high school. Emma became a teacher at age 18 at a one-room schoolhouse in the Cedar District. Image: Salt Spring Island Archives. For more information: BC Black History Awareness Society: Emma Stark BC's Black Pioneers: Emma Stark |
 | Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman was the most famous “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading escaped enslaved persons in the United States to freedom and safety in Canada. An escaped American slave herself, Tubman and much of her family lived in St. Catharines, Ontario from 1851 to 1857, a terminus on the railroad and a place of opportunity for freedom seekers. For more information: Government of Canada video: Harriet Tubman The Canadian Encyclopedia: Harriet Tubman Amherstburg Freedom Museum |