Bc Black History Walking Tour (Under The Haint Blue Sky)

What an experience! Roy is an absolute gem of a person and guide. He introduced us to so many areas of history that we would never have known about otherwise (sadly & ironically because the black community of Vancouver has seen so much displacement and erasure over time). He does ongoing research on black history in Canada, and he comes prepared with stories, images, and facts. This is honestly one of the best tours we've ever been on, and we HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the context & foundation (literally) of the city from its inception to today.

What an experience! Roy is an absolute gem of a person and guide. He introduced us to so many areas of history that we would never have known about otherwise (sadly & ironically because the black community of Vancouver has seen so much displacement and erasure over time). He does ongoing research on black history in Canada, and he comes prepared with stories, images, and facts. This is honestly one of the best tours we've ever been on, and we HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the context & foundation (literally) of the city from its inception to today.

I absolutely loved the history and stories shared. In mt head I envisioned Hoagans Alley as a live and vibrant black community without having done research and nothing like what I saw but I appreciate this young man for keeping the stories and history of black/African American people in BC alive. He's definitely doing the Lord's work and I mean that.

Excellent, informative and engaging. As someone with a background in African American studies in the U.S., it is enlightening to hear the perspectives experienced in other countries.

Host as a warm personality and gives lots of information!

It was incredibly informative and engaging! He brought history to life by sharing fascinating stories and details that made the past feel vivid and relevant. His enthusiasm and storytelling made it easy to stay interested and connected throughout. I especially appreciated how he made the history feel less like a series of facts and more like a story we could truly experience and understand. It was a wonderful and memorable experience!

It was an extreme eye opener did not know of the information that was presented at the time. Mr Roy took the time & patience to explain every different event that occurred. I left feeling more aware than when I arrived. Much appreciated 👏

Roy is an incredible storyteller and educator. He has spent countless hours in the archives digging through the Black history of Vancouver and British Columbia and shares it in a thoughtful and engaging way!

truly enjoyed this experience. The storytelling allowed me to use my imagination to see how this area was once filled with vibrant Black life, rich culture, perseverance, and community. As the stories unfolded, I could picture both the struggles people faced and the many victories they achieved, making the history feel real and deeply personal. What touched me most was being able to see buildings that have remained standing despite all the changes around them. Had I passed by them at any other time, they likely would not have held the same significance. Knowing their history gave them new meaning and helped me appreciate the lives, dreams, and achievements connected to those spaces. I am especially grateful to Roy for his engaging, attention-grabbing guidance and the historical research he uncovered and shared. His passion for preserving and telling these stories brought the area to life in a way that was both educational and inspiring. Thanks to his efforts, I left with a deeper appreciation for the significance of this community and the lasting legacy of those who helped shape it. Some places tell a story, but this experience allowed me to truly hear its heartbeat and carry its history with me long after the tour was over.

This person, is just putting in service the real information of how this part of the human society was created. A human Kind "Journalist" that make this easy and approachable. Humans, we have everything, why we don't co-operate and know how to coexist. Thank you Roy and also thank you to the people reading this review, for being brave enough to see this material. This is your History, everyone is in here, let's take responsibility, let's move on. On something that we can call everyone home. Aliens are coming right? It will be beautiful if they know that we are a passive specimen in the vast universe.

This was an exceptional walking tour, one of the best I've ever done. Roy has done deep archival research and used this to weave together a captivating and important story of the displacement and erasure and resistance and joy of Vancouver's Black community. He brings history to life by situating us in the very places of each story, and connects people and periods to help us understand the bigger picture of injustice and the need to disrupt its script. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough! Thank you so much Roy for sharing your knowledge, experience and insight with us.

I travel quite a bit for work and pleasure, and always seek out Black history tours, wherever I travel to. I was thankful that this one and only option was at least available. Roy was amazing and I appreciated all of the research that he’s conducted in order to uproot the story of Vancouver. To be able to connect things I was aware of such as the Black sleeping car porters to the Hogan’s Alley neighborhood was so cool! So many gaps/connections were made for me. I highly recommend this tour as Roy truly enjoys the work he is doing, and it makes you even more excited. May Roy continue to do the Lord’s work in telling the stories of just some of our ancestors so that we may learn and continue to build to make a more humane society in the future.

Roy met me and initially told me that the tour would be based on research he personally conducted, and for many people that may be a warning that this would be a purely academic and rather dry presentation. Nothing could be further from that assumption. This tour gives a grounded, emotional and uplifting examination of the historical underpinnings which inform the attempt at erasure which the black diaspora experienced in British Columbia. Roy's evidence is sound and speaks volumes and along the way he is able to bring to life a community which would be all but dead and forgotten without his passionate and persistent investigation. If there's a grant making organization that would be interested in supporting serious scholarship surrounding the black experience in this province, they need to sound him out because this is such vital work and needs to be part of a curriculum if nothing else. Take this tour and learn this history.

I have lived and grown up in Vancouver my whole life and feel so incredibly grateful to have gone on the Under the Haint Blue Sky Black history tour. I attended the tour with my mom, it was a well sized group - enough for us all to be friendly and each be able interact with the material on the tour. The guide (Roy) had the most amazing energy, and kept the group engaged throughout the whole tour, always leaving room for questions or discussions. It was well timed, being just under two hours and not too much walking (my mom was grateful for this) but still felt like enough time to explore the area. The neighbourhood parallels drawn to old photographs Roy had was really cool to me, and I understood parts of Vancouver I never had before. I think that both tourists and locals alike could not only benefit from going on this tour, but will thoroughly enjoy it. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Vancouver on a holiday, looking for an outdoor historic activity, or wanting to learn more about the city they live in. Thank you Roy!

We had a fantastic experience on this tour! Roy’s knowledge and passion for Black history in Vancouver truly brought the subject to life. I found myself wishing the tour could go on longer! Played some Jimi Hendrix and Lena Horne when I arrived home. His engaging style made every moment enjoyable, and I’ve already recommended this tour to my friends.

This was a worth while tour to discover the history that Blacks play in Vancouver, BC history. Rob made the tour lively and interactive as we walk through the street that Blacks once lived, worked, and develop.

Roy is a wonderful and very knowledgeable guide. He provided detailed explanations of Vancouver’s Black history and the individuals who helped form Hogan’s Alley, with historical photos to follow along, and kept the group engaged with several questions and deep discussion.

The BC Black History walking tour was really eye-opening. It felt like a crash course in all this new info about BC's black history and the community that grew there, stuff everyone should know. Roy, our guide, was super friendly and nice the whole time, checking in on everyone and keeping us all engaged, which made it a really immersive experience. Honestly, I'd totally recommend it to locals and tourists in Vancouver. It's a story that definitely needs to be heard!

It was well worth the money!!! The tour guide was knowledgeable, engaging and very personable. We learned a lot. The pacing was perfect- he answered our questions fully. I highly recommend this your

The crowd size was small and the tour guide was very welcoming. It was a 2 hour tour which helped me to gain more knowledge on the black community that once existed in Bc. The experience was great and I would definitely recommend trying the tour as it was highly informative, interactive and fun.

As a Black woman and a singer, I was deeply moved by Roy’s Black History tour in Strathcona. The stories he told about Vancouver’s Black community, especially the moments connected to Jimi Hendrix, really struck a chord. As someone who’s navigated both assimilation and belonging in Canada, I realized how much history I didn’t know. Roy’s passion and care brought these hidden pieces of the past to life. I’m so grateful for this meaningful experience.

I loved getting to know more about black people and the community they built in the city and also the struggles they had to go through. I loved learning about Hogan’s alley. The admission was free so we got to have this experience for free. The experience took about an hour 45 but was so immersive. It was amazing. Would highly recommend!!!

Excellent experience to learn about Black History. There is so much to learn