{"id":27858,"date":"2026-02-17T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=27858"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:16:14","slug":"bc-black-history-awareness-society-focuses-on-black-history-in-february-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2026\/02\/17\/bc-black-history-awareness-society-focuses-on-black-history-in-february-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"BC Black History Awareness Society focuses on Black history in February and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

This February, for the 32nd year, BC Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS) is hosting a number of events around Victoria for Black History Month (BHM), honouring the province\u2019s deep-rooted Black history, culture, and communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a non-profit organization that began in 1994, so for over 30 years we\u2019ve been celebrating Black achievements\u2014past, present, and future,\u201d says BCBHAS executive director Jamila Douhaibi. \u201cWe create more awareness around BC\u2019s rich black history, but we also celebrate contemporary artists, youth, and storytellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, the program aims to \u201chonour black brilliance\u201d by amplifying voices across all generations. With music, art, and history all on display, these events serve to highlight the resilience and creativity of Victoria\u2019s Black community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it really ties back to who we are as an organization and what we do, and I think that really shows in the events that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program kicked off on February 1 with the BHM launch at Open Space Gallery. The event featured live music, art, presentations, and catering, all from the Black community. Then, on February 7, the Royal BC Museum hosted History & Heritage Day, including nine unique exhibits, various speakers, and no admission fee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have History & Heritage Day, where people can come and talk to direct descendants of early Black pioneers, they can find out even more about the resources we have available, and talk to other people in the community,\u201d says Douhaibi.<\/p>\n

Coming up on February 22, BCBHAS will be leading a guided tour through Ross Bay Cemetery, offering a real-life walk through Black history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Black History Month 2026 launch event at Open Space Gallery on Sunday, February 1 (photo by Joshua Telfer).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an annual favourite because there\u2019s about 50 Black pioneers and their descendants buried at Ross Bay Cemetery,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cThat tour is a great opportunity to learn about Black history and Black individuals.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the work being put in by BCBHAS, this tour is constantly evolving. Their presence at Ross Bay Cemetery extends far beyond one guided tour a year, as they fix up old headstones and graves year-round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done some restoration work at Ross Bay Cemetery, so we\u2019re always restoring different graves,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cThere\u2019s a new memorial grave that we put up just this past year, so whether you\u2019ve been here before [or not], you\u2019ll always learn something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last event of the month will be held on February 27 at Pacific Opera Victoria, featuring live music, a book signing, and a keynote speaker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur final event will be the keynote speaker event, so that\u2019s, again, celebrating contemporary Black people. We\u2019ll have a local Black author who\u2019s the keynote speaker, her name is Junie D\u00e9sil. And then there will be a host, there will be music by Caleb Hart, and probably some art there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Douhaibi says that the importance of Black history should not be confined to a single month. There\u2019s so much to be learned at all times, no matter who you are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something for everyone,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cAll of the events are everyone welcome, a lot of them are free or by donation, and we really want people to just come out and celebrate Black history, and learn to be inspired or be encouraged to continue learning about Black history after February. Because, of course, it\u2019s all year long and not just February that it\u2019s important to learn about\u2014well, it\u2019s Canadian history, really\u2014so it\u2019s important to learn all year long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apart from the events being held throughout the city, BCBHAS is also committed to educating students across BC about the province\u2019s Black history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe also do presentations throughout the month,\u201d says Douhaibi, \u201cso I\u2019ll be going to local schools and universities\u2014I\u2019m even presenting for SFU and Surrey Libraries\u2014so outside of these bigger public events, we also go to schools and other places and share about history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education, of course, comes in all different forms. In addition to presenting at schools, BCBHAS also fosters a symbiotic relationship with several organizations in the community, making outreach more accessible.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that\u2019s also important to us is the partnerships and relationships we have in the community,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cA newer one is with the Maritime Museum, so in partnership with them, we\u2019re putting on 1858: Black Routes, Black Roots<\/i>, and it talks about the story of the Black community leaving San Francisco, how they travelled, and then what they did once they settled here.\u201d<\/p>\n

1858: Black Routes, Black Roots<\/i> runs until the end of April, showcasing the lasting significance of nearly 800 Black individuals migrating to Vancouver Island in the wake of the Dred Scott decision. This is just one example of the many events BCBHAS runs all throughout the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe really encourage people to come out during February, but then there\u2019s also so many other things happening throughout the year,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cWe do so many other projects and events.\u201d<\/p>\n

One project they\u2019ve been working on is a new community centre in downtown Victoria, located on the corner of Douglas Street and Johnson Street. The centre is set to open this spring, offering a number of resources and activities for the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an accessible space, it\u2019s all on the ground floor,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cThere will be a stage, there will be a ramp to the stage. We just want to have youth drop-ins, programming, and events all throughout the year, and we\u2019re really excited for that to happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BCBHAS\u2019 website<\/a> features a number of different resources, many of which are specifically curated for students and educators. It also includes a learning centre with information regarding BC\u2019s Black pioneers, a timeline of BC\u2019s Black history, and so much more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve created resources specifically for educators and students,\u201d says Douhaibi. \u201cWe have an archive guide, so if students are interested in learning more about Black history and seeing those archived documents and photos, they can access the guide on our website.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Black History Month, as well as Black history as a whole, is not currently a part of BC\u2019s K-12 curriculum. For this reason, it\u2019s important to BCBHAS that information and learning tools be as accessible as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to have Black History Month and Black history talked about more in schools,\u201d says Douhaibi, \u201cand so that\u2019s another big thing that we can work on because we want students that end up in university and college to already have known a lot of this information, and for it not to be something new to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that often isn\u2019t the case. Despite the positive reception from students and educators, Douhaibi says they\u2019ve had to take a more \u201cbottom-up\u201d approach, as BCBHAS continues to work with the Ministry of Education and the BC Teachers Federation to make meaningful changes happen in the classroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the conversations we\u2019ve had with the Ministry of Education, they\u2019re now using one of our resources, which is a timeline booklet we created for educators… So we\u2019re definitely making good advancements, but we really want it to be in the BC curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n

BCBHAS continues to make an effort to spread awareness for BC\u2019s rich Black history across the province, as well as cultivating community right here in Victoria.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always look forward to Black History Month,\u201d says Douhaibi, \u201cand being able to emphasize Black culture and Black heritage for the wider society, and we really hope that extends beyond February.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This February, for the 32nd year, BC Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS) is hosting a number of events around Victoria for Black History Month (BHM), honouring the province\u2019s deep-rooted Black history, culture, and communities.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re a non-profit organization that began in 1994, so for over 30 years we\u2019ve been celebrating Black achievements\u2014past, present, and future,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive","category-features"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27860,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27858\/revisions\/27860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}