Meet the city's newest leader: The Black Girl (in Vancouver) Guide

Jan 24 2022, 11:33 pm

Vancouver’s been called a lonely city before, but it can feel even lonelier for some. Now, Black women in the city have a new, growing community to find friendship and support.

“I needed to know that my struggles weren’t just my own, and I wanted to be able to have a space where I felt comfortable with speaking my truth,” Catherine Mtabaji, creator of The Black Girl (in Vancouver) Guide, told Daily Hive.

“If I’m having a hard time, then there’s absolutely a chance that there’s someone else out there that looks like me that’s going through the same thing.”

“I just wanted the girls to know that they’re not alone.”

Mtabaji is originally from Tanzania and moved to Canada almost 10 years ago. She moved from Calgary to Vancouver in 2019.

According to Statistics Canada data on visible minority populations from the 2016 census, just 0.58% of the population of Vancouver are Black women.

“I literally have one black friend,” said Mtabaji. “It’s crazy.”

The Black Girl (in Vancouver) Guide first started as a series on TikTok in 2021 and then officially began as a community in January 2022.

After a video shouting out a Black hair braider in Vancouver got huge traction on her TikTok, Mtabaji was inspired.

“I made a call for the black women in the city and I’ve got a great response from that,” said Mtabaji.

@projectkatalinam Let’s build a community. #blackinvancouver #blackincanada #vancouverhairstylist #calgaryhairstylist #blackgirlmagic #silkpress #blackgirlsinvancouver #blackgirltiktok #wigscanada #blackgirlsincalgary #african #carribeantiktok #canada #silkpressnaturalhair #buildacommunity #blackgirlinvancouverguide ♬ original sound – Katalina

“I felt that we were underrepresented. And, evidently, with the video and the number of girls and women that felt the same as I do who reached out – I felt the urge to start or create this community,” she said.

They just had their first virtual mixer attended by 30 women from around Vancouver and across Canada.

vancouver

Catherine Mtabaji/Supplied

“A lot of people say ‘you live in Canada, it isn’t as bad,’ but the racism is there,” she said.

“To have this community, a safe space where we can all talk about what we’re going through or even just share each other’s experiences…you don’t feel like you’re all alone here.”

“I realized that this isn’t just a Vancouver problem, but more of a Canadian issue,” she said, noting that women from Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal were asking to join the group, too.

“We just uplift each other,” said Mtabaji.

You can learn more about The Black Girl (in Vancouver) Guide by following them on Instagram. In the future, Mtabaji hopes to extend the group’s reach to support Black women nationwide.

Sarah AndersonSarah Anderson

+ News
+ Curated
ADVERTISEMENT