Sharing stories and building community are the goal of a special event marking Black History Month in the Tri-Cities.
Organized by Trish Mandewo and Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, the gathering at Samz Pub in Port Coquitlam on Feb. 27 is for African immigrants to Canada who are interested in talking about their shared identities and connections. It's titled "A conversation on global African identities and the complexity of connections."
“We will be creating a safe place for people to share their stories,” said Mandewo, co-founder of the Tri-Cities Women’s Collaborative Hub, who was recently honoured as a top Canadian immigrant in the ninth annual RBC awards.
Gilpin-Jackson, a lecturer at SFU and owner of SLD Consulting, who recently penned the book Identities: A Short Story Collection, said that sharing personal experiences is important to avoid isolation.
“We can learn as much as global Africans from each other,” said Gilpin-Jackson, who said the event isn’t restricted to people of Black African descent.
Mandewo was born in Zimbabwe and Gilpin-Jackson was born in Germany but went to school in Sierra Leone, where her family is from. Both say there is a small but growing expat community in the Tri-Cities and getting members of that group together is the reason for the event.
Both women are facilitators and leaders in organization consulting, leadership development, entrepreneurship and social change. Mandewo has an book being published, The Art of Building a Successful Business: An Immigrant’s Perspective and a limited number of copies of Gilpin-Jackson’s book will be available for sale at the event.
The two women met while their children were attending Hope Lutheran Christian School and decided to host an event for Black History Month because of their shared interests.
Their event at Samz Pub (2342 Elgin Ave., PoCo) starts at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. and conversation at 6:45 p.m. (participants pay for their own food and drinks). You can register on Facebook or via eventbrite.ca.
