February is Black History Month!
2026 marks 30 years of Black History Month being celebrated in Canada. Learn and celebrate Black History Month with these online and print resources and entertainment! We’ve curated a variety of materials in different formats for you, from local to Canada-wide.
For Adults
- READ the book on the subject of Black pioneers in BC. Vancouver area resident Crawford Kilian* wrote it and we are delighted to be able to offer instant and unlimited access to it via KnowBC.com! Read part or all of Go Do Some Great Thing online below by clicking the book cover. Or if you prefer a print format, find it in our catalogue.
- VISIT the online Black history in BC exhibit. British Columbia’s Black Pioneers influenced the Vision of Canada features 20 stories, 9 videos and 86 gallery items that include images, photographs, maps, and archival documents; all are bilingual.
- GET INVOLVED more with resources from the BC Black History Awareness Society.
*We would like to draw your attention to the new Foreword in this book by Black academic Dr. Adam Rudder which addresses the issue of Black history being told by a white person.
More Resources
Resources on Local Black History
READ: Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia by Crawford Kilian
LISTEN: Hermann’s Jazz Club in Victoria
WATCH: Secret Victoria: Rush to Freedom directed by Melinda Friedman
LEARN: Digital Museum for British Columbia’s Black Pioneers
LEARN: The Hidden History of African American Settlers in Wellington, BC
Nonfiction books, journalism, and films written and directed by Black Canadian women
READ: Searching for Serafim by Ruby Smith Diaz
LISTEN: Everything Is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe
WATCH: Farewell Regent directed by Christene A Browne
LEARN: Journalist Amanda Parris’s For the Culture documentary series on CBC Gem
Resources on Black Lives Matter in Canada
READ: Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter Canada by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson, and Syrus Marcus
LISTEN: Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
WATCH: The Skin We’re In Documentary featuring Desmond Cole and directed by Charles Officer
LEARN: Black Lives Matter Canada Website
Local Genealogy and Family History Resources
Are you interested in getting started with genealogy? Use Ancestry Library Edition this month to discover African Canadian family history. Use the “forms” function in Ancestry Library Edition to keep track of your research. Check out this example of an in-depth genealogy mapping of the Vancouver Island/Salt Spring and area Gwynne / Wood family, who descended from enslaved African Americans who came to Canada in the 1800s.
Emma Stark is a famous Black Vancouver Islander who was the first Black teacher on the island in 1874. She worked at the Cranberry-Cedar School, where it was rare for both women and/or African Canadians to be employed in the profession. She died in 1890 at the age of 33 from an unknown illness. A plaque in recognition of her teaching career is located at 331 Wesley street in Nanaimo, where Emily once lived. You can view Emma Stark’s family tree and see her family’s genealogy to the present day! Watch one of her descendants, Naidine Sims talk on her family’s history.
For Children
Digital Children’s Titles for Black History Month
Head over to our ebook/eaudiobook collection to view and borrow dozens of children’s books, from picture books to middle grade novels, by Black authors. Authors include Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, and Brandy Colbert. Topics range from basketball to Black history, Muhammad Ali, friendship, Viola Desmond, sister relationships, and more!
For Teens
Digital YA Titles for Black History Month
Teen books by Black authors, including contemporary reads by Black Canadian YA author Ben Philippe, LGBTQ+ Black stories, Black science fiction, and fantasy, and more!
