Black History Month kicked off in style on Saturday (Feb. 8) at the Royal B.C. Museum with the inaugural 'History, Culture and Fashion' event hosted by the B.C. Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS).
The event was conceived after Jamila Douhaibi, executive director of BCBHAS, gave a presentation on Black history to a French and Francophone studies class at the University of Victoria.
"We wondered how we could share these historical capsules with another part of our African heritage. That's when we decided to hold this fashion show."
Four local designers were featured on the runway: Kiara Jeannette (Ette Designs), Emmanuel Okee (Udamma Fashion), Jumoke Brown (Root.Watta) and Daniel Muthui (Kilele Creations).
For many years, the Royal British Columbia Museum has worked closely with BCBHAS. This year, a Black History and Heritage Day was held before the fashion show.
鈥淚t is very exciting for us to be able to host this event alongside the society and the University of Victoria to celebrate the deep rich history of the black community in Victoria and throughout British Columbia,鈥� said Chris O鈥機onnor, museum program developer, learning and engagement.
BCBHAS collaborated with the University of Victoria to create history capsules featuring stories of some black pioneers, including Eleanor Collins, Canada's first lady of jazz, John Craven Jones, Salt Spring Island's first Black schoolteacher, Barbara Howard, first Black athlete to represent Canada internationally, to name a few.
"We're on a journey toward reconciliation, just as we're on a journey to combat racism on campus, to ensure that we have a very inclusive environment for everyone to attend the university," UVic president Kevin Hall said.
"We'll admit it: we're not perfect and have a long way to go, but we're doing things that are making a difference." We signed the Scarborough Charter to ensure that our Black students, staff, and academics thrive on campus."
Hall acknowledges that much more needs to be done.
"We're happy to be on this journey, and we just ask for patience. We can't always do everything as quickly as we'd like; universities are similar to glaciers in that they move slowly, so we're doing our best. If you have any suggestions for how we can continue to move forward with our agenda to support the Scarborough Charter, we are always happy to hear them," he added.
The museum lobby was packed and guests were treated to free Caribbean food.
As the last model walked down the runway, BCBHAS president Silvia Mangue Alene delivered a clear message: "Black history is all year round and most importantly, Black history in Canada is also Canadian history."
