Emancipation Day

Thursday, August 1st, 2024

Emancipation Day is a time to remember our past, but it is not just about honoring the past. It continues to have an effect on the lives of African Canadians and Indigenous Peoples today. Recognizing emancipation is a step forward in recognizing African and Indigenous Canadian history as part of Canada’s story and teaches the next generation about the shameful and forgotten parts of the past that must not be repeated.

Canadian history is taught in schools from a Eurocentric perspective that omits or minimizes the human rights violation against Canadians of color. A big part of recognizing Emancipation Day is talking about the many segments of Canada’s past that often do not make it into mainstream history-class curricula. We are not talking about rewriting history, but telling a more complete history.

Segregation, and prior to that, slavery, created circumstances of marginalization, a cycle of unequal access, lost opportunities and systemic poverty. Even though segregation is no longer legal, African Canadians and Indigenous Peoples continue to experience systemic racism through social exile, through significant economic disparities and through active discrimination. Witness the feedback to Jully Black’s recent rendition of our national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game. Did Jully have the ‘right’ to alter the lyrics? No she did not have the ‘right’. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but coupling those opinions with vicious racial attacks is crossing the line of acceptability.

It is vitally important to take the time to learn about our robust history which reveals stories of resilience, victories and communities coming together. Recognition leads to understanding and education, which can then lead to action. Julian of Norwich Anglican Church is a community that prayerfully practices radical acceptance. We strive to continue to educate all who are willing to openly listen.

It is time to teach all our children this part of Canada’s history so that we can begin the reparations necessary to address modern-day racism and the impact of that racism.

It is important to realize that Emancipation Day is also about reflecting on our present, taking the time to actively examine the current circumstances and remembering why Black and Indigenous lives matter.

Emancipation Day is also about preparing for our future. It is in this preparation and fight for equality that we will prepare the younger generation for success. The United Nations Decade for People of African Descent encourages us to “promote greater knowledge and recognition of and respect for the culture, history and heritage of people of African descent”.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 corinthians 15:57-58)

We invite you to mark your calendars for August 1st

The content of this page was compiled from multiple sources.