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Anny Scoones: History of Black pioneers reads like adventure story

I once took a course in British Columbia ­history at the University of Victoria, and to tell you the truth, I do not remember one single thing, except for a very sad little ­sentence or two, which, oddly, floats around in my thoughts very frequently.
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Go Do Some Great Thing recounts the history of B.C. from the Black pioneering perspective, beginning with the gold rush era, when many Blacks began to arrive from the United States, not necessarily to seek gold, but to escape the racism and ­slavery in America, writes Anny Scoones. HARBOUR PUBLISHING

I once took a course in British Columbia ­history at the University of Victoria, and to tell you the truth, I do not remember one single thing, except for a very sad little ­sentence or two, which, oddly, floats around in my thoughts very frequently.

It was a quote from a settler’s diary. He had been venturing deep into the ­forest of central B.C. and was reflecting on the traumatic experience of being lost and ­disoriented and preparing to meet his maker in the wilderness all alone (no doubt quite unprepared) when he came upon two elderly Indigenous trappers.

The two Native elders drew a map for the settler. The quote from his diary entry went something like: “The Native trappers could not speak a word of English, so instead gave me clear directions by scratching out a ­little map on a piece of thin bark with a sharp stick.”

Amid the vast variety of history books and material available these days, one that stands out is Go Do Some Great Thing by Crawford Kilian (2020, Harbour Publishing), which recounts the history of B.C. from the Black pioneering perspective — a fleeting topic in most history resources. It begins with the gold rush era, when many Blacks began to arrive from the United States, not necessarily to seek gold, but to escape the racism and slavery in America. They first settled in Victoria and created a strong, vibrant Black community, ­raising their ­families and setting up businesses — ­hairdressing and farming were popular endeavours.

The book reads like an adventure story, describing the characters and challenges the early Victoria immigrants and established inhabitants struggled with, and there’s a ­joyous boom-town feel to it.

“I cannot describe with what joy we hailed the opportunity to enjoy that liberty under ‘the British lion’ denied us beneath the pinions of the American Eagle,” wrote the articulate (and dapper) Mifflin Wistar Gibbs.

A Black woman immigrant from ­California wrote:

“Far better breathe Canadian air,

Where all are free and well,

Than live in slavery’s atmosphere,

And wear the chains of hell.”

The new home for the Black population was not without underlying racism, which slowly raised its ugly head in, of all places, the church.

“The Ethiopians perspired,” complained a certain Mr. Sharpstone on a particularly warm Sabbath. “They always do when out of place.”

Referring to the Ladies Sewing Circle, a journalist for the Colonist observed (in 1861): “The male and female members of the circle attend at the lady’s house; but you never see a black face …”

The story moves on to the Lower ­Mainland, up the Fraser River, to Barkerville, Salt Spring Island and even Sooke, and all the characters we are familiar with play important roles, from Amor De Cosmos to American gunslinger Ned McGowan.

My favourite is Wellington Moses, who claimed he had a cure for baldness by ­flogging his “hair invigorator” throughout the Cariboo (his wife tried to drown herself in Victoria’s harbour!).

Of course, Joe Fortes is mentioned — years ago, I used to stroll down to the aging orange-painted Joe Fortes Library in ­Vancouver’s West End when I was ­recovering from scarlet fever, and his ­pictures were everywhere — everyone knew how he had taught countless children to swim down at English Bay. I sat and read art books on a ripped orange vinyl sofa under his framed photograph on a smudgy wall.

In the epilogue of this interesting book, the author mentions a famous photograph and contemplates stereotypes and multiculturalism. In “Black Man Pender,” taken by Vancouver photographer Fred Herzog, known for his street photography ­throughout the city’s neighbourhoods, a well-dressed Black man walks with his little girl and their dog through Chinatown.

Any book on Herzog’s photography is highly enjoyable and his retro images often present a multicultural theme (albeit with a lot of neon Coca-Cola signs).

If you love children’s books, there is a wonderfully interesting Canadian selection on Black history at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre in Toronto, whose website is easy to navigate and extensive. One of many selections is Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner and Richard Rudnicki (2010, Groundwood Books, Toronto).

“She wouldn’t budge one inch because she knew this seating rule wasn’t fair to black folks. It was just plain wrong. So the manager and the policeman dragged her out of the theatre in a real rough way.” You can also see a short dramatization of Viola’s life on CBC’s Heritage Minutes.