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Black Lives Matter Vancouver may have only come together in 2016, but the group is eager to commemorate and celebrate the long history of the black community in Vancouver.

Cicely-Belle Blain said she started the group last summer in solidarity with the movement which originated in 2013 in the United States as a response to institutional racism experienced by black people.

"We wanted to also show that there are black people in Canada and racism is still a thing that exists here in Canada," she said.

Blain said the black community in Vancouver isn't huge, yet her group still gets comments like "this is an American problem" and "you don't belong here."

"Even though we're a very small group, there's still a lot about blackness to be celebrated ... particularly in this city there was a rich, vibrant black history."

Although her group is small, Black Lives Matter Vancouver founder Cicely-Belle Blain (centre) says she is eager to revive the spirit of Vancouver's historic black communities. (Vancouver Dyke March/Facebook)

Celebrating that community history is one of key focuses on the group in the month and year ahead.

"There used to be a very big population of black people here in Vancouver but then it was wiped out by things like the building of the Georgia [Street] viaduct which wiped out Hogan's Alley where there was a thriving black community," she explained.

"That led black people to be pushed further out into the suburbs or even east into the rest of Canada ... In Vancouver,we're kind of siloed and we don't really have much of a sense of community."

Blain said her group will be hosting some events like an art workshop which she says will be primarily for and within Vancouver's black community.

"It's going to be our focus this year to look more internally and create spaces that are safe and comfortable for black people," Blain said.

With files from The Early Edition

To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled Black Lives Matter Vancouver founder on Black History Month

Go here to see the original:
Black Lives Matter Vancouver marks Black History Month - CBC.ca