EXODUS
Black Evacuation of California
In
1858 about 800 free blacks left San Francisco and traveled
to Vancouver Island as a result of an invitation from
Governor James Douglas. They came to escape the racial
conditions of the time in California with a promise that it
would be better on Vancouver Island. Although they still
faced problems once they landed, it was far less then the
ones they had endured and allowed them to prosper in ways
that they could not to the South. Many of them contributed
to the development and growth of BC through their
businesses, the starting of churches, and forming one of
the earliest militia units on Vancouver Island.
They have a long history here in the Province and it
continues today.
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