For the second day in a row, people have returned to block off busy bridges near the city's downtown. Vancouver protesters built barricades and held signs in support of Black rights and against racism. They stand in a historically Black area of town that was reportedly dismantled to build the bridges they're standing on. Peaceful protestors were seen back on the streets and geared up with blockades and signs on Sunday, June 14, reported the CBC. They stood blocking off the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, in a part of town called Hogan's Alley. The blockades began on Saturday, June 13 on those same bridges, cutting off traffic from the usually busy viaducts. The Vancouver chapter of Black Lives Matter has a list of demands including defunding the police and addressing how destroying Hogan's Alley has harmed Black, Indigenous, and communities of other marginalized people. The protesters present held signs that read "defund the police" and "defund white supremacy," according to the CBC. According to CTV News, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart has no plans to meet with the protesters, though his director of communications said he has and will be working on the issues they've identified. View this post on Instagram BLACK LIVES MATTER • Today's Blockade is for our community. For the Black community that was removed from this place, and the Black community that is still alive and strong in the this city. • Do you know the story behind Hogan's Alley? The expropriation of the community that thrived here, and the City of Vancouver's intent to disperse and displace the Black people that called this place home? Today, we work in solidarity with the protesters at the viaduct. They are reclaiming this space that was taken from us. We also affirm the protesters at the Crab Park camp, and the vigil downtown for Chantel Moore. • We need the City to step up. To commit to change. For all of us. • Black Lives Matter Vancouver A post shared by Black Lives Matter Vancouver (@blm_van) on Jun 13, 2020 at 11:31am PDT Vancouver Police has also issued a statement on Twitter asking drivers to avoid the area, and that traffic is closed on both directions across the Georgia Viaduct. #VanTraffic: Traffic is still closed in both directions on the Georgia Viaduct because of a protest. Drivers are advised to avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/EMZhlkc9cZ— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) June 14, 2020 Hogan's Alley is the unofficial name for that small block of town, according to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. It was also the city's very first Black neighbourhood, with the name being used as far back as 1914. Notably, the area was also home to the grandmother of Jimi Hendrix, who would visit her throughout his childhood. The neighbourhood met its end in the late 1960s to 1970s when the city demolished parts of the area to build what is now the Georgia viaduct, finished in 1971. Vancouver hasn't had a Black neighbourhood of its cultural significance since and so this is a significant place for anti-racism protests in the city.
