By Gabrielle Bonifacio, Communications Assistant
With each coming year, we aspire to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians while also gaining a wider understanding of the parts of history that have been erased.
Though it is now well-established that February is Black History Month, BHM was only officially recognized in Canada when the Honourable Jean Augustine, who was the first Black woman elected to Parliament, introduced the motion in 1995.
As Aisha Harris so astutely put it in her piece, “Let’s Fix Black History Month”, this is also an important time for us to “confront past and present injustices” and recognize the presence of anti-Blackness today to create a truly equitable and inclusive future.
This February, observe the month by channeling your inner bookworm, attending an event, or chiming in online using #blackhistorymonth.
Head out to an event
UBC Vancouver
- Black Activism in Education and Community: Exposing Anti-Black Racism in Vancouver with Shelby McPhee
- UBC Robson Square Theatre
- Decolonizing Voices: A Celebration of Canadian Black HERstory
- Great Hall and Haida House
- IBPOC Connections Staff & Faculty Lunch: Important Conversations
- St. John’s College
- Film Screening: Journey to Justice
- Chan Centre
- We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Chan Centre
- Asserting Black Presence in Canada with OmiSoore Dryden
- UBC Robson Square HSBC Hall
Vancouver
- Black History Month Concert
- UCABC presents…BHM 2020: The Black Experience Expressed through the Arts
- Root
- The Black Market
- BLACK ARTS VANCOUVER PRESENTS: Movie Night
- Black History Month Family Day
- African Fashion and Arts Movement Vancouver 2020
- Black Love Series
- A Dialogue on Post Genocide Reconciliation Model
- Black Strathcona Heritage Tour & Fountain Chapel Celebration
- Blair Imani @ SFU
- Black History Month Lecture
Good reads
With a rich selection of classic and contemporary, poetry and prose books written by celebrated Black authors available in store or at your local library, there are countless options that are sure to satisfy every kind of reader. Here are a few gems that you should definitely add to your TBR pile.
- The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison
- Reproduction by Ian Williams
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy
- Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevado
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
Want more? Head to the UBC Bookstore to check out their Black History Month book display.
Listen to Black voices
- Recognizing resilience and potential – meet Savannah Sutherland, the co-president of the Black Student Union (BSU).