His family profited from slaves. Her family were Black activists. This B.C. couple wants to tell their stories

North Vancouver couple Christene Best and Guy Heywood come from families that significantly shaped Canadian and B.C. history. 

But only one of their families has been commemorated in street and park names. 

Several locations in North Vancouver are named after Heywood's family, including the Lonsdale neighborhood, Heywood Street, Heywood Park, Fell Avenue, and Pemberton Avenue, according to the North Shore Heritage Preservation Society. 

As Tuesday marks 189 years since slavery was abolished across the British Empire, including in Canada, the couple say more needs to be done to educate the public about the history of slavery in Canada and the role Black people played in shaping the country. 

"There were black farmers, there were black settlers, there were black pioneers, but they tend not to get noticed because they didn't write the history books," said Best, who works as vice-president in marketing for a financial technology company.

Her grandmother, Carrie Best was a prominent Black journalist and civil rights activist in Nova Scotia, and her father James Calbert Best was a respected diplomat — Canada's first Black assistant deputy minister and first Black high commissioner. 

Heywood, a former councillor for the City of North Vancouver, says he learned recently through research that he is descended from the Heywood family responsible for developing the city — a family that became wealthy from the slave trade. 

Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale and his brother Benjamin were prolific slave traders, contracting over 144 slave voyages and using their capital to start a bank, says Heywood. 

WATCH | B.C. couple share their family history with the slave trade and Black activism: 

How the slave trade shaped North Vancouver

1 year ago

Duration 2:46

Two North Vancouver residents say they want to create greater awareness around Canada's Black history and their own family's history with both the slave trade and Black activism.

By speaking up about his family's history, Heywood says he hopes to shine a light on how the system of slavery helped build the city. 

"The bad parts should be recognized for what they are," said Heywood.

Not only have many prominent Black people in Canadian history been erased, says Best, but Canada's own history of slavery is often swept under the rug.

"There's still way too many Canadians who don't realize that we actually had slavery in Canada, or they'd prefer not to realize that we had slavery in Canada," said Best.

Best says municipalities and governments can do more to educate the public on Emancipation Day, such as hosting public events or seminars. 

"Something that's more active than just a passive recognition of the day."

'Nobody handed us a thing'

This year marks three years since Emancipation Day was officially declared in B.C. and in Canada. Simon Fraser University professor June Francis says governments recognizing Emancipation Day is a step in the right direction. 

But she says concrete actions need to be taken to remedy the legacies of slavery that still affect Black people, like discrimination from housing and employment and police over-surveillance.

"Canada was incredibly implicated in this, and this is something people don't often think about," Francis said on CBC's The Early Edition. 

Francis says Emancipation Day should be seen as a commemoration of Black people freeing themselves from the shackles of slavery, but also as a way to honour everything Black people in Canada have achieved since. 

"After slavery was abolished nobody handed us a thing," said Francis.

"It's always important to understand what we have achieved, and that I celebrate."

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.