VANCOUVER, BC.- Created by the BC Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS) in partnership with the Royal BC Museum (RBCM), Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum highlights the contributions of BC’s Black leaders across the centuries—and it will be on display at the Museum of Vancouver from June 14 through September 13, 2026.

Hope Meets Action initially debuted at the RBCM in 2021 and has been travelling across the province since then. “This exhibition shares and promotes understanding of the history of Black settlers and their legacy, a legacy that contemporary Blacks in BC are very proud of,” Silvia Mangue Alene, the BCBHAS President says.



The BCBHAS has been working diligently for more than 25 years to keep BC’s Black history from being erased. This exhibition is an important step to recognize the role Black history has played in the province by highlighting the past and present contributions of BC’s Black communities.

Curated and written by Josh Robertson and designed by Rodney Hazard, the exhibition follows the seldom-told stories of Black people such as Sylvia Stark, who was born an enslaved person in Missouri, taught herself to read by secretly listening to her master’s children’s lessons, and eventually became a pillar of the Black pioneer community on Salt Spring Island. Her daughter Emma Stark would later become the first Black teacher on Vancouver Island.





In addition, exhibition panels use artwork by young Black artists speaking to the history of the Hogan’s Alley community in Vancouver, BC.

On Sunday, June 14, 2026, Hope Meets Action will officially open with a special event led by curator Josh Robertson introducing the show and sharing insights into the research, stories and community collaborations that shaped it as part of the Juneteenth Listening Room: Ancestral Memory Dialogue & Performance. As part of the event Hogan’s Alley Society and the Vancouver Black Therapy & Advocacy Foundation will have community booths on site to share information about their work.