Forgotten voices: The untold stories of Caribbean migration to Vancouver

The role of oral history in Caribbean culture promotes the use of narrative in order to retrieve missing histories not found in literature. It examines the power of narrative in reconstructing memories through counterstorytelling in order to increase the visibility of a community that has been pushed to the margins of Vancouver's history. Though this work primarily focuses on the story of Afro-Caribbean immigrants, their highlighted experiences force the need for others to acknowledge their colour first, and their culture second. This forceful recognition of their colour neglects cultural identity, their story and more importantly, their humanity. As such, the objective of this thesis is to spotlight stories of Caribbean narrative and provide space for knowledge sharing amongst eight participants conducted over the course of 2019. Through storytelling, participants provided a historical record of their experiences where no record previously existed and expressed moments of success, triumph but also of discrimination and anti-black racism. Findings reveal that their race impacts the way in which they move through society and with that they sought actionable change in their communities or moved through their reality with constant reminders of their difference.