Emancipation Day to be recognized with free community event at the CMHR Friday

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This article was published 01/08/2022 (1513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a day that has been skimmed over or left out of most Canadian history textbooks.

Monday marks Manitoba’s first official recognition of Emancipation Day as a public holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834.

On Friday, a free community event will take place at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in recognition of Emancipation Day and the role that Black Canadians played in the country’s history. The evening will include live music, a performance by the Jamaican Association Dancers, poetry and speeches from Black community leaders.

Nadia Thompson, the chairperson of Black History of Manitoba, said the organizing committee purposely booked the event on the museum’s free Friday to ensure all can attend.

“We want to make sure that they are understanding that emancipation is a part of a human right, and that’s why we chose to partner with the (museum) to have this event at the museum,” Thompson said.

Last October, the Manitoba legislature voted unanimously to recognize Emancipation Day as a public holiday on Aug. 1. Jamie Moses, the NDP MLA for St. Vital, submitted the private member’s bill.

“After seeing the federal government did have a national Emancipation Day motion, we looked at whether groups would be interested in doing a similar thing in Manitoba,” Moses said.

He will speak about the bill and the importance of Emancipation Day at the museum gala. The day is a testament to freedom, but also an opportunity to recognize a dark part of history, he said.

“The reason it’s important to acknowledge it today is because it’s part of our Canadian history and the history of Black people in this country,” Moses said. “It’s a part that we need to acknowledge and learn from, and as part of learning about it, to recognize and celebrate the freedom that it created for Canadians who were enslaved.”

Many conversations around slavery in Canada focus on the country’s role as a refuge for enslaved Americans through the Underground Railroad. Yet slavery was present in Canada before its official abolition in 1834.

“There’s a lot of indiscretions in our history books. People seem to forget that slavery was alive and well in Canada,” Thompson said.

In the colony of New France, slavery was predominant. Records show that around 3,600 Black and Indigenous slaves lived in New France between the early 1600s and 1759. After the British conquered New France, slavery continued in British North America until its abolition in 1834.

Thompson said Black History Manitoba is advocating for the incorporation of Emancipation Day into Manitoba school curriculum. The influx of anti-racism initiatives in the last few years has inspired change, but it’s important that people are educated about Black history in Canada for the initiatives to be beneficial, Thompson said.

“There should be some reconciliation as to what our people have gone through. People died, people suffered for us to be free today,” Thompson said. “They deserve our recognition that Canada is 100 per cent just as much at fault.”

Moses and Thompson emphasized the importance of recognizing Black history in Manitoba throughout the year. Emancipation Day is an opportunity to remember the past, but also to look at how to move forward, Thompson said.

“It’s so important that we continue to educate ourselves about the history and find ways to implement the lessons in our daily lives,” Moses said.

“It’s important to recognize Black history 365 days a year,” Thompson said.

cierra.bettens@freepress.mb.ca