Open Collections

Mohamed, Majda

University of British Columbia

This thesis examines the lived experience of Black-owned businesses in Vancouver, identifying and analyzing the practices and processes of being an African diaspora at the local level. The discussion is on how the discourses of community, nation, and race have impacted the economic prosperity within the Black community as a collective. The study will travel back in time and unravel the complex racial history of Canada and determine how racial beliefs, attitudes, and discrimination continue to be directed at people of African descent, particularly here in British Columbia. Understanding the relationship between race and colonial history will, therefore, determine the barriers that hinder the growth of black entrepreneurship in Vancouver and prove the necessity to facilitate future Black entrepreneurs to overcome economic, social, political, and psychological adversity. The city of Vancouver is undergoing a series of reconciliations for marginalized communities. In the plan, the city is committed to facilitating for the African diaspora community after urban racial policies caused the displacement of a historic black neighborhood, formally known as Hogans Alley. Therefore, the findings will frame attempts to envision and support black businesses in the future development of Hogans Alley and encourage scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to build a healthier and more inclusive city.

Text; Still Image

2023-04-25

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/84481

Architecture

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/