Former spiritual hub of Vancouver's black community celebrated

Yasin Kiraga Misago, who is Muslim and from Burundi, might not be the most obvious person to help revive a Christian congregation in Vancouver.

But he's one of the members of Vancouver's black community who are giving new life to a century-old church that was once an important spiritual hub for the city.

On Sunday, Misago and others walked to the original home of the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Chapel, a church located at 823 Jackson Ave. in the city's Strathcona neighbourhood, in recognition of its hundred-year history.

The church was originally founded by Nora Hendrix — grandmother of Jimi Hendrix — in 1918. It grew to be an important community centre and focal point for the city's black community until mid-century.

At that point, city planners tore down many of the neighbourhood's buildings for the development of an inter-urban freeway. The freeway was dropped, but not before the Georgia Street viaducts were constructed and the community changed.

The building was eventually sold. It is currently a private residence.

Misago, a refugee who came to Canada 10 years ago to study at the University of British Columbia, said he felt a strong kinship to the city's historic black community which transcends specific spiritual beliefs. 

"When you meet me and the generation of people of African descent in Vancouver 400 years ago together … people of African descent, their identity is the same," Misago said. 

Misago has spent the last five years reassembling the congregation, helping organize services at the Strathcona Community Centre.

This year, the church has a new home for services: the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Keefer Street and Campbell Avenue where members of the walking tour ended their afternoon. 

Jahmira Lovemore-White joined the group with her family on Sunday afternoon as an opportunity to learn about some of Vancouver's black history.

"There's just so much that we don't know," Lovemore-White said. "There's so much that kind of gets written over if we don't take the time to reflect and learn and give these moments their due. We ... lose a little bit of ourselves."

Jean Augustine, one of the first black women to be elected to the House of Commons, came from Toronto to be part of the celebrations  Sunday.

She says honouring black history is one of the reasons why she introduced a federal motion in 1995 to declare February Black History Month in Canada.

"Black history … is part of Canadian history," Augustine said. 

"We need to know where the settlements were, where the contributions are and the people who have gone before us."

Listen to CBC's Stephen Quinn's interview with Yasin Kiraga Misago: