Black history

A collage of Black women musicians. From top left to right: Lu Kala, Foushee, and Fefe Dobson. From bottom left to right: Straight Line Stitch, Rachel Chinouriri.
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Black women musicians and the stubborn R&B label

Peak Web March 16, 2026

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer and Petra Chase, Features Editor Black women in music tend to get boxed into one repeated spot: rhythm and blues, more commonly known as R&B. Black artists in general tend to get pigeonholed in genres like rap, hip-hop, and R&B. However, Black women experience a unique struggle in the music industry at the intersection of racism and misogyny. Black women artists are labelled R&B despite making music in different genres. Even in R&B, a genre where Black women thrive, they’re often overshadowed by men and fight harder to achieve the same recognition as white artists.…

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A black and white photograph of the London Drugs in Hogan’s Alley, 1968, is pictured. There are two floors above the store of apartments, and this building sits at the corner of the streets its on.
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Hogan’s Alley Society hosts discussion on the importance of Afrocentric values

Peak Web March 2, 2026

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer On February 10, the Hogan’s Alley Society (HAS) hosted an online discussion exploring the impact of Afrocentric values in public spaces throughout the Lower Mainland. The event, which is part of the organization’s “Building Belonging”…

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An illustration collage: a Black church congregation sitting and standing between wooden pews. A bowl of soup joumou, a brown broth with chunks of vegetables. A package green of hair beads. A package of box braid extensions.
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Black spaces that feel like home

Peak Web February 24, 2026

By: C Icart, Co-Editor-in-Chief Last December, I went home to see my family for the holidays, as I do every year. It was a great time, and after months away, the warmth of being in majority-Black spaces envelopes me. So…

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A black and white photo of Assata Shakur smiling.
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Remembering Assata Shakur

Peak Web February 17, 2026

By: Zainab Salam, Opinions Editor Content warning: mentions of solitary confinement. Humans of all walks of life leave an imprint as they live. But once they’re gone, this imprint solidifies itself into a legacy. Assata Olugbala Shakur is one of…

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The book cover for The Nickel Boys (left), which shows two boys standing against a red splotch on a white background, beside the film poster for Nickel Boys (right) depicting two boys standing side-by-side and looking up at the camera.
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Film and literature tell the story of The Nickel Boys from different angles

Peak Web March 12, 2025

By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer Content warning: this piece talks in-depth about slavery and racial segregation.  Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys tells the story of two boys doing time in a reform school. Elwood Curtis, who is falsely accused…

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This is a promotional poster for the screening of Black August that features a photo of George Jackson. He is seen laughing joyfully in this photo.
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SOCA, SFPIRG, and CPSHR screen Black August

Peak Web March 10, 2025

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer Content warning: mentions of police brutality and homicides. On February 24, SFU Students of African and Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA), Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG), and Canada-Phillipines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR) joined together…

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A civil rights protest calling for equality, housing, and integrated schools
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The erasure of Black narratives persists

Peak Web February 21, 2024

By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor Content warning: mentions of racism and enslavement.  Perhaps we know Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks — but what else is known about how Black people shaped history in Canada and the US? There…

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Two young Black men sitting casually and smiling in front of a display of garments hanging on a rack, with colourful patterns.
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Union Street captures Vancouver’s vibrant Black community through history

Peak Web October 17, 2023

By: Balqees Jama, SFU Student Content warning: mentions of systemic racism and displacement. Union Street is a documentary film highlighting Vancouver’s historic Black neighbourhood located in Strathcona. Known colloquially as Hogan’s Alley, it was systemically disrupted and displaced by the…

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This is a photo of the Academic Quadrangle on the SFU Burnaby campus.
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Alice Mũrage discusses the diversity among Black people in BC

Peak Web March 14, 2023

By: C Icart, Staff Writer Alice Mũrage is a health researcher, health sciences PhD candidate, part of the Gender and COVID-19 project, and the director of the African Ancestry Project. The Peak attended a talk where she presented her findings…

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Two Black femme-presenting people are crouched in what looks like a grassy front yard, with only their backsides visible. Both have dynamic disco-esque outfits on, one with hair rollers holding up their hair, and the other with a top knot and traditional hat.
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Photography exhibition tour challenges the colonial gaze

Peak Web February 27, 2023

By: Nercya Kalino, Staff Writer As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic is The Polygon Gallery’s latest exhibit, from February 24 to May 14. It’s part of an ongoing photography exhibition tour curated by SFU Masters alum and curator…

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