In honour of Black History Month we pay tribute to the late Leonard Lane, a local Black leader who spent his life bettering his community. In 1959, he was one of the founding members of a branch of the BC Unity Credit Union to serve Black Canadians in Black Strathcona, a neighbourhood in East Vancouver, home to the city’s first and only black community. As well as helping to establish the brand, Leonard acted as its treasure for eight years.  In 1971, the brand merged with Vancity, leaving a lasting legacy of financial inclusion.

As one of Black Strathcona’s unsung heroes, his daughter, Lenora Lane, said her dad enjoyed teaching her the value of money. “I learned so much from him at an early age and it became a great base to build on as I grew older. Today, I still hold those values dear to my heart.”

Lenora also recalls how her father became involved with The British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People in 1956. In addition to helping fight problems such as prejudice, she said the group also provided an opportunity for people together to come together to share ideas. One of those ideas was a credit union.

“Their vision was to show adults and, especially young people, how good it was to start saving and see their money grow,” Lenora said. “They also supported young adults who struggled to get loans from banks.”

When the credit union started, Leonard took a bookkeeping course to learn how to keep the records properly. He also pulled together what was necessary to set up an informal office in the basement of his home in Burnaby. It became a place where members would come to make deposits or do whatever business they needed.

Lenora remembers being six or seven and using a green folder from the BC Unity Credit Union as a makeshift piggy bank to fill with nickels. “When it reached a dollar I would run downstairs to the basement and deposit them into my account,” she sayid. “I was always so excited.”

Leonard retired in the 1980s and moved to Surrey, BC with his wife Adeline. He died on January 8, 2016, at the age of 94. Leonard’s accomplishments and passion left the community better and his legacy serves as inspiring example of how one person can make a meaningful difference.

For more information on the contributions of Leonard Lane and the history of Vancouver’s black community visit: http://blackstrathcona.com/.