viaduct vancouver

Vancouver viaduct blocked by protesters in support of Black Lives Matter

Downtown Vancouver's busy Georgia Viaduct has been eerily empty all weekend thanks to protesters blocking entrances and exits to the massive twinned bridge.

A small group of peaceful demonstrators in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been occupying the space surrounding the viaduct since Saturday morning.

Like many other protests taking place across the country and the world right now, the ongoing viaduct blockade is meant to condemn racism and amplify calls for the defunding of police.

While not huge, with only about 100 people in attendance at its peak, the protest has been significantly disrupting traffic for nearly two days now and is generating much attention on social media.

The location of the demonstration is significant in that the viaduct currently stands atop what used to be a Black community called Hogan's Alley.

Described as "a hub for Black citizens in the Strathcona neighbourhood," Hogan's Alley was razed to make way for the viaduct's on and off ramps during the 1960s.

"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," reads a description of the protest event on BLM Vancouver's Facebook page.

"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?" wrote the organization of the area surrounding the protest site.

"Today, we work in solidarity with the protesters at the viaduct. They are reclaiming this space that was taken from us."

Also in Vancouver on Saturday was a larger protest calling for justice in the case of Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman from B.C. who was shot and killed by police in New Brunswick on June 4.

Lead photo by

adamhighway


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