April 15, 1948 “Young Negro Couple Threatened with Death Unless They Move”

On April 15, 1948, the Province newspaper reported that Mr. & Mrs. Dermont Cromwell received a letter demanding that they move from their home in southeast Vancouver, as they were not wanted in the neighbourhood. Auspiciously, Mr. Cromwell was the President of the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Colored People. Friends and neighbours rallied support for the couple. On May 21, 1948, Mrs. Margaret Kent was found guilty of threatening the couple and received a suspended sentence on posting a $1,000.00 peace bond.
Anti-Black racism remained prevalent in the province. In August 1948 Vancouver hotels refused accommodation to the Black cast of “Carmen,” and even 17 years later, in August 1965, professional Black football players were refused accommodation in some Vancouver hotels.