Black history
Remembering Assata Shakur
February 17, 2026By: 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 those people. Born JoAnne Deborah Bryon in 1947, she grew up in New York and North Carolina. As a young Black woman exposed to structural inequalities, Shakur forged her identity through acts of liberation. Raised by her mother, grandparents, and aunt Evelyn A. Williams — a civil rights organizer — Shakur grew up amid financial instability. As a child, she…
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Film and literature tell the story of The Nickel Boys from different angles
March 12, 2025By: 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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SOCA, SFPIRG, and CPSHR screen Black August
March 10, 2025By: 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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The erasure of Black narratives persists
February 21, 2024By: 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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Union Street captures Vancouver’s vibrant Black community through history
October 17, 2023By: 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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Alice Mũrage discusses the diversity among Black people in BC
March 14, 2023By: 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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Photography exhibition tour challenges the colonial gaze
February 27, 2023By: 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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D. O. Gibson inspires youth through hip-hop
January 30, 2023By: Anna Kazi, Peak Associate World record-setting rapper, Duane “D.O” Gibson, kicked off the year with the Black Music 365 tour which teaches youth in BC about the musical contributions of Black Canadian talent. Gibson spent the second week of January…
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Opinions in Dialogue: Importance of incorporating Black history into education
September 22, 2020Editor's Note: Names used in conversation have been changed for the sake of anonymity As Black Lives Matter protests continue in the US as well as here in Canada, the questions of ways to bring more awareness to the oppression…
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Militant Mothers of Raymur mosaic commemorates the collective action of a once-working class neighbourhood
June 11, 2020By: Meera Eragoda, Arts & Culture Editor Since the start of COVID-19 restrictions, I’ve been taking walks around Strathcona, and though the restrictions have eased now, I’ve been continuing that practice. Aside from being good for my mental health, being…
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