[BCMA] Fwd: BC Black History Awareness Society and Royal BC Museum Prepare to Open New Pocket Gallery Exhibition

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

*Written, Told and Designed by Black Voices:*

*New Pocket Gallery Exhibition Reclaims BC Black History*



*VICTORIA, BC – **At a time when many British Columbians are already
re-examining the province’s history and who gets to write it, the *BC Black
History Awareness Society <https://bcblackhistory.ca/>* (BCBHAS) and Royal
BC Museum (RBCM) have partnered to produce a new pocket gallery exhibition
that reclaims and retells the complicated history of Black “British
Columbians.”*



*Opening August 14, **Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum*
<https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/events/calendar/event/110386/hope-meets-action-echoes-through-black-continuum>*
traces an unbroken line of strength and resistance from the distant past to
the present and into the future by highlighting the* contributions of Black
leaders whose actions echo across the centuries.



“With this exhibition, we not only want people to learn about the history
of Black settlers and their legacy but we also want people to know that
contemporary Blacks in BC are very proud of this legacy,” explains BCBHAS
President, Silvia Mangue Alene. “We will extend and grow this legacy
through resilience, hard work, creativity and leadership, with the humbling
acknowledgement that we are not Indigenous of these lands.”



The exhibition follows the seldom-told stories of Black women such as
Sylvia Stark, who was born an enslaved person in Missouri, taught herself
to read by secretly listening to her master’s children’s lessons and
eventually became a pillar of the Black pioneer community on Salt Spring
Island. Her daughter Emma Stark would later become the first Black teacher
on Vancouver Island.



It also features audio recordings of Black British Columbians calling in
from around the province to lend their voices to this history, and—with a
focus on decolonization—artwork by young Black artists speaking to the
history of the Hogan’s Alley community in Vancouver, BC.



*“This pocket gallery marks an important moment in time for BC,” says Royal
BC Museum acting CEO, Dr. Daniel Muzyka. “Right now, many British
Columbians are re-examining the province’s history and challenging its
longstanding bias toward European settler history. We’re indebted to the BC
Black History Awareness Society for leading the way on this long-overdue
retelling of Black history in BC.”*



*Hope Meets Action **was created by the BC Black History Awareness Society
in partnership with the Royal BC Museum; it was curated and written by Josh
Robertson and designed by Rodney Hazard. *



*Access to the Royal BC Museum’s Pocket Gallery, located in Clifford Carl
Hall on the main floor, is always free. Visit *rbcm.ca/pocketgallery
<https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/exhibitions/pocket-gallery>* to learn
more.*



The BC Black History Awareness Society has been working diligently for more
than 25 years to keep BC’s Black history from being erased. This exhibit is
an important step to recognize the role Black history has played in the
province by highlighting the past and present contributions of BC’s Black
communities.



- 30 -



*Note to editors: images available at*

https://www.flickr.com/gp/36463010@N05/322u30

*Media contacts:*



*Silvia Mangue Alene*

President

BC Black History Awareness Society

(250) 216-3039

silvia.mangue at shaw.ca



*Wesley MacInnis*

Communications Specialist

Royal BC Museum

(250) 208-8846

news at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca



[image: Twitter_logo_blue]RoyalBCMuseum <https://twitter.com/RoyalBCMuseum>
 royalbcmuseum <https://www.instagram.com/royalbcmuseum/> RoyalBCMuseum
<http://www.facebook.com/RoyalBCMuseum/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20210805/fbef4070/attachment-0002.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 870 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20210805/fbef4070/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 849 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20210805/fbef4070/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 850 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20210805/fbef4070/attachment-0005.jpg>