Who is the Unity Centre Association for Black Cultures?

In the fall of 2012, a group of like‐minded individuals came together to discuss their dreams and aspirations for BC’s Black community. The group acknowledged that while sharing common race and African ancestry, Black Canadians are diverse in terms of culture, religion and language of origin. That group also recognized that BC’s growing and vibrant Black community has strong historical roots in the province, yet its contributions and needs are often overlooked by decision‐makers at every level. And finally, the group identified as a priority the establishment of a Black cultural centre for the community, which was envisioned as becoming a hub or gathering place to:

•   educate and inform ourselves and the boarder community about the historical and contemporary contributions of members of the Black community to British Columbian and Canadian society,
•   provide support services to our children and youth, seniors, and newcomers, and,
•   host celebratory and other community events.

A subset of that original group continued to meet and eventually formed the Unity Centre Association for Black Cultures (UCABC). UCABC, a registered non‐profit organization, which was founded to pursue the goals of unifying, promoting and integrating Black cultures within Canadian society.

The Unity Centre’s board of directors recognizes and honours the work that the social/cultural groups, business organizations, faith groups and prominent individuals in the Black community have been undertaking for many years to promote the positive contributions of Black cultures in BC. Our long term goals as an organization include being an ally in that work by promoting opportunities for greater collaboration and support amongst organizations within the Black community, pursing the establishment of a physical space for BC’s entire black community to call their own, and, ensuring that the identity, history and political presence of the Black community in BC is recognized by the federal and provincial governments and other provincial and national leaders and decision‐makers. We are eager to collaborate with individuals and organizations holding similar goals. If you are interested in the work of UCABC, please contact us at the email address below.