Black Achievement:

Mifflin Gibbs

In 1858, 600 Blacks escaped intense racism in San Francisco by emigrating to Victoria, which had a white population of 400 at the time. The man who led this exodus was Mifflin Gibbs, a businessman and civic leader who became the strongest defender of black rights in Victoria.

Sir James Douglas

Sir James Douglas is arguably the man most responsible for the existence of the province of British Columbia. He was born in Guyana, South America, to a black mother and white father, and rose up the ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company to become Britain's colonial governor in the Pacific Northwest. He was instrumental in developing the two colonies and preventing them from being annexed by the USA.

The Pioneer Rifles

Shortly after 1858, black settlers tried to join Victoria's volunteer fire department. The all-white force blocked this, so Mifflin Gibbs organized an all-black volunteer militia. He knew the force would be an asset to the under-manned colonial government's dealings with the 30,000 men who were to eventually pass through Victoria on their way to the Fraser River gold fields.

Sylvia Stark

Sylvia Stark started out life as a slave in Missouri, survived scarlet fever, became a pioneer farmer, then a cattle driver in California, helped carve a homestead for her family out of the Saltspring Island wilderness, raised children, taught school, and eventually died . . . at the age of 106.

Charles and Nancy Alexander

Charles and Nancy Alexander came to Victoria in 1858 as part of an emigration of blacks from San Francisco. Mr. Alexander was a skilled carpenter who helped build, then preach in, Shady Creek Church in Saanich. Many of the Alexanders' descendants live in Greater Victoria.

Fielding Spotts

The family of Fielding and Julia Spotts emigrated to Saltspring Island in 1859. Wild terrain, natives defending their land, and wolves and cougars, caused them to put down roots in Saanich, instead, where they became major participants in its development.