UBC students spearhead efforts to establish Black Library in Vancouver

A Vancouver UBC student is leading an initiative to create a Black Library that she hopes will become a community hub.

Maya Preshyon said she was inspired to create the facility after realizing Vancouver lacked the cultural space for the Black community that other major cities have.

“We see an infrastructure deficit for the Black community and we are trying to come up with a solution,” Preshyon told Global News.

“As a space, it is of course a library, but also a place of community gathering. It will be a place where people can come to study, that people can relax, that people can come and just work without paying for an hourly coffee. “

Preyshon said she also envisions the library serving as a community, where people can hold workshops or group therapy sessions.

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Discover the history of the Black Vancouverites at Hogan’s Alley

Ideally, the library would be located near the old site of Hogan’s AlleyVancouver’s historic Black Quarter was razed in the 1970s to make way for the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts.

“Hogan’s Alley is just a place for the Negro and the black community to come together and become their cultural hub,” Preyshon said, adding that the area’s history was little recognized until recently.

“I am a Negro in Vancouver, and I was never taught what happened to Hogan’s Alley. I didn’t know that Vancouver had a Negro neighborhood; I didn’t know that Jimi Hendrix was here. ”

Preyshon credits local community groups and activists with a renewed interest in Hogan’s Alley, and says this is a movement she hopes to join.

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Construction of viaducts in Georgia led to the obliteration of Hogan’s Alley

In the meantime, Preyshon and her collaborators are looking for places, raising money, and trying to collect as many books as possible.

They are setting up drives and have come up with a “wish list” of about 150 titles.

“We prioritize books, literature, works written by Black authors, place emphasis and importance on the Black experience, and work that way,” she said.

That said, the organizers want this space to be a functional library with as many options as possible and won’t turn down any books, she said.

Interest in ideas seems to be interested.

Preyshon launched a GoFundMe campaign for the library a week ago, and quickly hit the initial target of $6,000.

She has now raised that goal to $35,000, hoping to secure a one-year lease on the library when it opens.