Slideshow image

The following is an excerpt from: http://www.challengeracistbc.ca/ 

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Challenging Racist “British Columbia”: 150 Years and Counting

THE COMING YEAR MARKS 150 YEARS (1871-2021) SINCE BC JOINED CANADA. This anniversary arrives at a critical moment: Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and other Indigenous peoples are challenging dispossession and environmental racism; the Black Lives Matter movement is demanding foundational change; Japanese Canadians are seeking BC restitution for the attempted ethnic cleansing of the province; and the fight against racisms associated with COVID-19 is broadening in response to systemic racism. 150 Years and Counting (150YC) is a new open-access, multi-media resource that documents how this recent cycle of anti-racist activism is part of a broader history of Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities challenging white supremacy for over 150 years – particularly since 1871 when BC joined Canada. Co-authored by activists & scholars from diverse communities, this resource will assist anti-racist educators, teachers, scholars, and policymakers in piercing the silences that too often have let racism fester in communities, corporations, and governments. 150YC is co-produced by the UVIC History project Asian Canadians on Vancouver Island: Race, Indigeneity and the Transpacific and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – BC Office.

The 80-page, fully illustrated 150YC booklet was released in February 2021, and can be accessed as a PDF HERE. An online version of the text will become available on March 25th, 2021.

This Spring, the 150YC project will also release accompanying video content and an enhanced, interactive digital edition with direct links to primary sources, community-based resources, learning activities, and more.