February is Black History Month and while it may seem more significant to our neighbours south of the border, it tends to be overlooked right here in British Columbia.
For the College of New Caledonia, 2017 marks the 20th year celebrating the contributions black people have made to the province over the past century from the railways to the mines.
CNC Instructor and Black History Committee Chair George Kaweesi says this month is suppose to support inclusion and diversity.
“Something that’s been overlooked for a long time, and we feel there’s been lots of contributions made by black people since the days of slavery.”
Kaweesi adds it’s important to remind all generations about this month of recognition.
“We also try to educate the young people. There’s many black young people that have been born in Canada, but they don’t know their own history, so in some ways, we try to educate them so that they don’t forget where they came from.”
Tonight’s festivities will include a dinner and a dance, along with some guest speakers, but Kaweesi also says the evening will also double as a fundraiser.
“There is an organization society to the feed an orphanage in Burundi. They approached us and we thought it would be a great idea to actually dedicate this year’s celebrations to fundraising.”
The gathering starts at 5:30PM at the CNC campus.
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