Most Canadians have never heard of Emancipation Day

    Monday, 31 July 2023 12:02

    By Tonya Organ

    It started as an act that was passed in 1833 and went into effect on August 1st, 1834.

    Tomorrow is Emancipation Day in celebration of the abolishment of slavery, which was an act that was passed in 1833 and went into effect on August 1st, 1834. Ngozi Paul is the director of a new CBC documentary, called FreeUp! She says many Canadians have never heard of Emancipation Day. “Many Canadians are not even familiar with the history of African Canadian history,” she says. “As well as the level of slavery we had in this country.” Paul says the documentary is being released tomorrow, which she likes to call a joyful interrogation. “ We ask why we’ve never heard of these histories,” she says. “But also go into celebrating the way communities have kept the awareness of Emancipation Day going for generations.” Paul says our neighbours to the south abolished slavery about 34 years prior and there’s a romantic notion of Canada being the True North and a lot of slaves escaping here. However, she says we don’t recognize the over 200 years of enslavement that happened here in Canada.

     

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