Developments in the renaissance of Vancouver’s Black history at the VBL
Yasmine Modaresi (she/her) // Crew Writer
Jasmine Linton (she/her) // Illustrator
Nestled in Chinatown’s Hogan’s Alley, a historically Black neighbourhood, the Vancouver Black Library (VBL) has strived to build community, showcase the art and research of BIPOC authors and scholars, and educate the general public on Black Canadian culture since 2022. The VBL’s location is a political act of reclamation, public education and Black empowerment. According to founder Maya Preshyon, “Being located where Hogan’s Alley once was and is adjacent to Black Strathcona has always been paramount… Many people have no idea that this area is filled with Black history, narratives and memories. Even fewer people actually see blackness exist in this neighbourhood today.” Throughout BC’s history, the struggles and triumphs of the Black diaspora have been constant alongside the officially recognized, showcased, and remembered histories.
“The Black history of this neighbourhood was erased, misrepresented and diminished,” says Preshyon. She continues to explain that she and other volunteers at the VBL are “honouring what [their] ancestors […] started long before community care, mutual aid and collaboration… Education is liberation.”
Preshyon was an undergrad student when she first began this unique project in 2022. The vision was to make non-white, non-colonial histories accessible and showcase them to the general public. Over the past two years of operation, the VBL has faced challenges and growth. Preshyon feels that the VBL has created an inclusive cultural space for BIPOC children, youth, and adults alike as a space of emotional, financial and intellectual support. The VBL team has also worked to deconstruct the homogenous, all-white and all-male narratives within the elementary school education system by organizing field trips for hundreds of young children and family-night readings.
Preshyon says,“Being accessible to people of all ages has always been one of [the VBL’s] aims”— a goal that hit close to home for Preshyon herself. She reflects that “growing up Black in BC and feeling like I never belonged took a major toll on me, [and] it makes me hopeful that Black youth, through the VBL, can become aware that they belong here.”
The VBL expresses dedication to keeping Indigenous solidarity as a central goal in every project. Preshyon says decolonization requires “looking to Indigenous matriarchs as a blueprint for how we do good work in the community.” The VBL strives beyond performative support by ensuring that local Indigenous folks from all walks of life have a platform at the VBL.
With minimal representation of non-white narratives outside of niche academic spheres, the VBL could have made the choice to highlight only the Black diaspora. However, the organization prioritizes diverse community-building and support projects. Everyone is welcome to attend events, which include poetry and book readings, performances and exhibitions. In an interview with CBC, Maya stated that the library is “a library in the sense that it has books, but also a library in that it connects people to people as much as it connects people to information.”
Community-building efforts are further showcased in the organization’s display of information and art. Rather than selecting and categorizing in the traditional top-down approach of library science, the VBL strives to involve the experiences of community members and maintain a grassroots nature. Volunteers come together at the VBL to read through books and display them by creating categories for genres of scholarly and fictional works that have not previously received a spotlight in traditional Western libraries.
The VBL’s dedication to grassroots, community-building and supporting the broader Vancouver community is further highlighted with their naloxone training sessions and mutual aid for community members. Regardless of ethnic, religious or national background, the VBL strives to promote skill and equipment-sharing programs free for all Vancouverites so that even those experiencing financial hardship can pursue educational and creative projects. No matter your background, the VBL welcomes you to a space to grow and exist in good company.