Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum is the title of a new pocket gallery exhibit at the Royal B.C. Museum that centres on the Black experience in B.C. and tells their story — unfiltered.
The exhibit, which opened on Saturday, was created by the B.C. Black History Awareness Society in partnership with the museum.
The exhibition differs from others in the museum because it represents the telling of history through Black eyes and experiences — and not whitewashed by the annals of colonial history.
“This is our story being told by Black voices,” said Silvia Mangue Alene, president of the B.C. Black History Awareness Society.
She said that the exhibition not only looks to the past but also reflects the ongoing sense of belonging felt by contemporary Blacks in B.C. today.
“The work here is fantastic and we hope that other cultures will have the opportunity to have their stories told in the future,” said Alene.
The exhibition includes seldom-told stories of Black women such as Sylvia Stark, who was born an enslaved person in Missouri, who taught herself to read by secretly listening to her master’s children’s lessons.
She eventually became a pillar of the Black pioneer community on Salt Spring Island where her daughter would later become the first Black teacher on Vancouver Island.
“The exhibition represents a shift in the narrative — to one where the story is not filtered by the museum,” said Chris O’Connor, learning program developer for the Royal B.C. Museum. “As the exhibit centers on the Black experience, we felt that it was not our story to tell. It is a vehicle for expression — for the voice of the community to be heard. Our role is to support their vision, to work alongside them and be part of the process.”
Josh Robertson, the program’s writer and curator and Rodney Hazard, the designer, are both Black.
The exhibit addresses the historical erasure of the contributions of Blacks in the province.
“Right now, many British Columbians are re-examining the province’s history and challenging its longstanding bias toward European settler history,” said Dr. Daniel Muzyka, acting CEO, Royal B.C. Museum. “We’re indebted to the B.C. Black History Awareness Society for leading the way on this long-overdue retelling of Black history in B.C.”
The Pocket Gallery exhibition is free to the public during regular museum hours. It is located in the Clifford Carl Hall on the main floor of the museum. It runs until March 1, 2022.
For more information, go to rbcm.ca/pocketgallery.
