On Saturday, February 17th, 2018, The Unity Centre Association for Black Cultures will be holding their first ever Black History Month Youth Summit. It’ll be held at the Douglas College campus in New Westminster between 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm. Ages 16-25. It’s a free event so make sure to come early to secure a seat. UCABC is creating an opportunity for the youth to get together, to have some fun and to talk about some real issues that are impacting them. “We want to have a location and environment where they can come together and dialogue amongst each other, share with each other,” said Vice-President Jackie Earle, “Where they can learn a little bit more about our
culture, where we’re going, what our focus is in the organization and that they can be a part of it. They can help not only the organization to grow but they can also find their niche within there so that they can feel included and empowered to participate and bring forward ideas and strategies that will benefit the youth community in general.”
Personal identity is one of the fundamental human needs. We, as human beings, need to know that we’re not alone. We need to feel that we belong somewhere and that there are people that understand us, and care about us.
It helps us to know ourselves. Having a sense of community is vital to brain development, it affects our self-esteem and stress levels. It’s especially important for young people as they’re finding their way in the world. Assistant Treasurer Tasha Clarke told me, “From personal experience, growing up as a Black youth in Vancouver can be a
very isolating experience. You feel invisible. It’s very hard to develop your own sense of identity. We often grow up in households that raise us one way and then when we go outside of our homes we’re interacting with our peers whom were raised a completely different way. It can be very confusing. We’ve observed a large number of Black youth in our communities not being able to truly embrace their identity, feel comfortable in their own skin or fully tap into their potential. My hope is that UCABC can help to provide an environment that empowers these youths to become the best version of themselves.”
UCABC is a nonprofit organization that was originally developed with the idea of unifying the black community within British Columbia, particularly within the Lower Mainland. They also recognize the parallels of the Black community to The First Nations community here. They share a common history of oppression and being a marginalized population. They are avid supporters of a number of local events, initiatives and other organizations that are champions for social change such as the reconciliation of Aboriginal peoples within the broader Canadian society, anti-racism programs, the promotion and integration of other local African and Caribbean associations into our communities, and contributing to efforts being made in the city to revitalize the Hogan’s Alley neighborhood, which was home to the largest concentration of Vancouver’s African-Canadian community before the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts displaced its residents. UCABC believes strongly in allyship and advocating for other marginalized communities, the same way they would hope that they would be supported in their movement as well.
“There were a lot of different associations and different groups out there that represented the Black Community in general,” added Secretary Daniel Sheriff, “but they were missing something, they were operating independently.
There wasn’t a lot of activity or there wasn’t a movement or some type of ideology out there to bring everybody together. We figured that that’s something we can do. We felt that unifying and working together as one allows us to accomplish a lot more than working in so many different groups. We realized that we needed a physical structure, a multicultural centre or a Black cultural centre that would house, almost like a hub that would bring all these associations including the individuals in the community together in a positive way.”
Maurice Earle, UCABC’s Public Relations Officer said, “On a political level but also within the community we wanted to be transparent. We’re like a go between. We’re not there to get in anybody’s way or take over what they might be doing as an association themselves. We would just like to act as a conduit by linking existing associations together and more importantly, linking individuals to associations or relevant social programs. Currently, there are a number of programs and resources offered to members of our community including refugee and new immigrant services. Acting as a channel to ensure everyone is well-connected is one example of an initiative UCABC would like to provide within the context of the hub. This in itself will help to grow communities.
The Unity Centre Association for Black Cultures is excited to invite new members and volunteers to join their efforts. Something they want the community to know is that they don’t want their mission to be carried out in isolation. They very much want it to be a collaborative effort. They want to work alongside other individuals who
share the same vision – whether they’re black, from other cultural groups or just associate with people from the African diaspora, as it requires an all hands-on deck type approach. They welcome anyone who would like to learn more about the association to visit their website and connect with them. Interested in joining the movement? Their website address is www,ucabc.ca.
Join The Unity Centre Association For Black Cultures on Facebook, follow @ucabc on Instagram and @unitycabc on Twitter.
