Charles S. Sager called out racism in an open letter to Prince George city council in 1921 “We are forced to bear the full responsibility of our race, forced into the lowest of menial occupations and then despised for doing so.” Researched and written by George Davison Charles Stuart Sager Read more…
Written and researched by Bailey Garden, BCLHC Project Manager Much of the colonial history of this province has centered the perspectives of white male settlers who came in search of gold and glory. While gold miners tended to work on their own claims, some of the earliest labour organizing in Read more…
Vancouver’s Favourite Umpire BC Black pioneer was lumberworker, athlete, soldier, storyteller and Hall of Famer Researched and written by Donna Sacuta On September 2, 1965, 75-year old Abe Mortimer bellowed “Pla-a-a-y B-a-a-w-w-l” before an audience of more than 2,500 at Capilano Stadium in Vancouver to kick off a two-inning Old-Timers’ Read more…
by Rod Mickleburgh Esi Edugyan may have won the 2018 Giller Prize for her novel about the astounding exploits of Barbados-born Washington Black, but the story of William Fitzclarence “Fitz” St. John was the real thing. His long, remarkable life, which, like the fictitious Washington Black, also began in Barbados, Read more…
Born January 27, 1900 in Alberta, Clarence Clemens moved to British Columbia from Edmonton sometime in 1937. He soon found work on the docks as a longshoreman employed by Empire Stevedoring Co. and settled into the predominantly black neighbourhood of Strathcona in East Vancouver. The heart of this community was known as Read more…