Car Free Vancouver Society Statement on Movement for Black Lives:

Black lives matter. We stand with the movement for Black lives, for equity and justice, and against white supremacy and police brutality.

We recognise our lateness in making this statement, and our delay is prompting internal questions about our ways of working and with whom we hold relationships.

For too long anti-Blackness in Vancouver has been quiet, and also deadly. The City of Vancouver demolished Hogan's Alley, the Black neighbourhood in Vancouver, in the name of car culture and progress at the cost of Black people. Hogan's Alley Society has an active petition right now. In support, we ask you to review and sign: Hogan's Alley Society - Petition

Anti-Blackness and racism in our society has not been a burning topic of discussion, and that needs to change. We are putting in place ways for volunteers and contractors to make official complaints and help us identify internal problems.

We are opening up an invitation for folks to join our board committee where we will discuss ways our society has helped to erase Black history in Vancouver. This group will be working to identify, unpack, and fight white supremacy in internal processes and ways of operating.

We have heard the demands of those who occupied the viaducts this past weekend and are also looking at how we can remove the VPD from our festival footprint and replace them with a care-focused group of service providers. We recognize that this work needs to be an ongoing effort of our Society.