Black History Month kicks off in Vancouver with night of music and poetry

For 12 years, Marcus Mosely and a rotation of other artists have celebrated Black culture with an annual concert in Vancouver. 

Known as Songs of Freedom, the concert kicks off Black History Month and shines a light on music and poetry honouring B.C.'s Black community. 

This year's concert will be held on Feb. 3 at the Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver and will feature artists like Juno Award winner Jim Byrnes, gospel trio the Sojourners, spoken word artist Jillian Christmas and the Marcus Mosely Ensemble. 

Mosely joined The Early Edition host Gloria Macarenko to talk about the event and his own musical journey. 

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How did Songs of Freedom come to be?

My friend Brian Tate, who was the director of the City Soul Choir, approached me and started talking about how we should do something for Black History Month. 

The minds came together, the choirs came together and we planned our first event at St. Andrew's Wesley Church [in 2012].

We just continue to do it every year, not just for music about Black culture, but we also honour local or regional Black heroes and sheroes. 

So that way we're teaching a little bit about the culture, as well as sharing the music and the joy.

How was music part of your life growing up?

I was born in Texas in 1952, during the time of Jim Crow and segregation. So I remember all of that as a child.

My mom always was a church person, a staunch Southern Baptist. Wherever she was, working or going about her day, she always had a song on her lips.

What I realized was in the midst of all of that craziness — the oppression, the racism — singing was a way of her feeding her spirit and keeping herself centred.

I just kind of learned that music and singing and expressing your soul is like breath, like breathing. You just do it all the time. 

You made your way to British Columbia and Vancouver in 1985. What do you remember about Black culture in the city in those years?

First of all, when I came to Vancouver, I noticed there weren't a lot of Black folks around. I was used to being in areas where the Black population is more dense and more centralized, but here they were spread out.

One thing that happened to me early, I wanted to get involved in something for Black History Month. Somebody said there's a woman you should go see named Barbara, she's from Jamaica and often is involved in putting on productions.

So I made an appointment with her for tea and she said, 'That's great, let's do something.' So I said, 'How about honouring Martin Luther King?' And she said, 'Why?'

My jaw kind of dropped and she goes, 'I'm from the islands' and her hero, who I happened to be named after, Marcus Garvey held a stronger place in her heart.

What that moment taught me is the Black community not only in Vancouver, but across Canada, is not a monolith. We come from Africa, we come from the islands, we come from the United States. We have those who came up as freed peoples or were running away in the Underground Railroad. 

So there's a harmony of cultures and so we have a rich resource to draw from.

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For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.