In a week where anti-Asian graffiti was discovered scrawled around Lower Lonsdale and a North Vancouver MLA went public with anti-Indigenous emails she had received regarding B.C.’s vaccination program, many North Shore organizations have received grant funding to tackle racism.
Ten organizations on the North Shore have received multiculturalism grants – offered to registered non-profit or other eligible organizations such as arts organizations – that work to support projects that challenge racism, hate and systemic barriers, the B.C. government announced yesterday.
For Presentation House Theatre, the $5,000 grant means staff member Giselle Clarke-Trenaman will be able to continue and expand her Black History Matters program.
In 2017, Clarke-Trenaman began independently volunteering her time to educate children in North Shore classrooms about the rich Black history in British Columbia and Canada.
Last year, amid a world that started to take more notice to the systemic racism in our society, Clarke-Trenaman’s program officially fell under the Presentation House Theatre banner and she started to virtually deliver her programming to local schools.
“It’s the reawakening. I found that a lot of the teachers and the students were clamouring for this information,” said Clarke-Trenaman, who teaches students about Black B.C. pioneers such as Sylvia Stark, North Shore legends Harry Jerome and John Braithwaite, and Vancouver’s first official lifeguard Joe Fortes.
“A lot of people think of Joe Fortes and they just think of the restaurant [in Vancouver]. No – he did so much more,” she said.
The Capilano Students’ Union Association is also receiving $5,000 for the purpose of assisting student organizers at Capilano University in setting up a Black Students’ Union.
The new union will help the university fill gaps when it comes to providing targeted services and community-building activities for Black students, something that has been historically neglected throughout the province’s post-secondary system, according to the Capilano Students’ Union.
“This provincial grant will support the development of our Black Students’ Union, which we intend to be a resource, support, and Black community hub, all with the full support of the Capilano Students’ Union,” stated Feven Kidane, students’ of colour liaison with the Capilano Students’ Union, in an emailed response.
Earlier this week, the North Shore Multicultural Society responded to and soundly condemned an increase in anti-Asian racism following racist graffiti discovered in Lower Lonsdale, as well as reported ongoing verbal attacks and public intimidation.
It was announced yesterday that the multicultural society would be receiving a $10,000 grant so it can convene two community dialogue projects on anti-Asian racism in the time of COVID-19 over the next year.
The two dialogues will offer opportunities for those directly affected by anti-Asian racism to explore the commonalities and impacts of their experience, as well as provide an opportunity for community members of Asian descent to make suggestions and recommendations on how the local community can prevent anti-Asian racism and support victims of hate, according to the multicultural society.
A community forum where a panel of experts will talk about the historical oppression and racism toward Asian communities in B.C., and specifically on the North Shore, is also planned.
Andisheh Fard, manager of the society’s Centre for Diversity and Innovation, said they were grateful to have the funding to do this work at a time when it’s needed most, referring to a spike in anti-Asian sentiment over the last year.
“Within the work that we’ve been doing, we’ve noticed a greater need. The need has always been there in the community to do anti-racism work and racial equity in general – but really this past year we’ve seen the community wanting to talk about it more and wanting to find different ways of addressing racism and hate in the community.”
While a time and date hasn't officially been set up for when the two dialogues and forum will take place over the next year, Fard recommended checking out the North Shore Multicultural Society’s social media channels to stay up to date.
Elsewhere in North Vancouver, the Cheakamus Foundation for Environmental Learning; the District of North Vancouver Public Library; the Ghanaian-Canadian Association of British Columbia; Korean Traditional Arts Society; and the North Shore Folkfest Society are also receiving grants for various anti-racism and inclusivity projects.
In West Vancouver, the Independent Schools Association of British Columbia and North Shore Volunteers for Seniors are also receiving grant money.
