Get to know Vancouver with another free, self-guided tour to watch from your mobile device. Strathcona’s Creative Cultural Collaborations Society and Vancouver Moving Theatre have created this awesome digital map to learn about your city’s history. Watch from anywhere at www.blackstrathcona.com, or scan QR codes as you pass street signs and download videos about a community of black Canadians that breathed life into Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood during the first half of the twentieth century. Of course, the map’s creators strongly suggest you complete the walking tour, but the website is very insightful. Learn of the memorable people that made East Van a vibrant place through beautifully edited videos, old photos and vivid storytelling.

Black immigrants first settled in Vancouver around the turn of the twentieth century, fleeing persecution in the States, and built homes in Strathcona. A few decades later, homesteaders arrived from Alberta, originally from Oklahoma. By the 1940s, Strathcona had nearly eight hundred black residents. Yet they often faced housing discrimination. The media negatively portrayed the neighbourhood as poor and crime-ridden; thank goodness, nothing African Americans and Canadians deal with today, right? Construction projects would eventually force residents out of the area. Today, you would never know that Strathcona was home to a thriving black community, even as 20,000 black residents call the city home now.

A story about Jimi Hendrix, one of Strathcona’s most famous residents.

These videos are especially useful for newcomers in the Vancouver metro area. A new city, new province and perhaps a new country can feel unfamiliar and isolating as you adjust. These lessons and deeply personal videos foster an appreciation for this area. As a US citizen, it warms my heart to read that newly freed African Americans made their way to Canadian shores. We never learned of “freeman” emigrating to BC or Alberta in our history lessons. Hearing of their struggles in Vancouver leaves a sting, a city that prides itself in welcoming people of all cultures. Discrimination and stereotypes continue to plague this community, and discovering this historical pattern only increases your desire for positive change.

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