ANCHOR CANADA

ANCHOR Canada was incorporated in 2003 as a non-profit organization serving the Black community in Canada.  We were previously known as the Vaughan African Canadian Association and changed our name in 2020 during the "BlackLivesMatter" racial injustice awakening that swept through the globe following the murder of George Floyd. We were contacted by a student completing their Masters degree and as part of her program she was researching names on buildings, hospitals, schools , cities and their ties to their colonial past. When we found out the name "Vaughan" was attributed to a man named Benjamin Vaughan who was a slave owner involved with the greatest and most horrific human trafficking of all time. Benjamin Vaughan owned slaves in Jamaica and was given land and the privilege of having a City named after him. When we heard this, we immediately made the decision to change our name. ANCHOR was chosen because it encompassed everything we aim to do for the community.