By Billa Saleh
Halton Black History Awareness Society (HBHAS) is celebrating Canada’s 189th year since emancipation with the Halton Freedom Festival, spanning 10 hours this Saturday, August 5.
Starting at 1:00 p.m., HBHAS will present live music, food trucks, arts and crafts, and more. The free-entry event will be held at Spencer Smith Park in Burlington — the first city in the world to acclaim August as Emancipation Month.
They are proud to host nine different musical artists, with a wide variety of Black-centred music genres like reggae and R&B. The artists performing are each different in style — a DJ, a drummer, and a Ugandan children’s choir will all be there on Saturday.
HBHAS is also partnering with Burlington Food Bank for this event. Attendees are invited to bring food items to donate to the food bank. Registration to volunteer with the Burlington Food Bank will also be made available through this event.
The Halton Freedom Festival and Emancipation Day activities celebrate emancipation and serve as a reminder of our country’s history — both the good and the bad aspects. On August 1, 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act took effect, freeing enslaved Black people in most British colonies, including Canada (Henry, 2021).
In March of 2021, the federal government officially recognized August 1 as Emancipation Day. However, Emancipation Day has been celebrated in Canada long before the House of Commons voted on it. One of the more notable Emancipation Day celebrations took place in Windsor, Ontario, in 1956 — where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a guest speaker (Wilhelm, 2022).
Burlington commemorated this year’s Emancipation Day at Burlington City Hall. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward signed a proclamation declaring that Burlington will observe August 1 as Emancipation Day, August as Emancipation Month, and August 31 as International Day for People of African Descent. As Francesca Durham, HBHAS’ project curator of the Emancipation Art Exhibition, noted, “Emancipation Day represents the triumph of justice over injustice.”
Dennis Scott, chair of HBHAS and seventh-generation African-Canadian, spoke at the Emancipation Day flag-raising event on August 1, as did HBHAS director Lisa Scott, and several Burlington and Halton dignitaries. The Pan-African flag was raised and will stay up for the remainder of August.
This Emancipation Month, it is important to recognize that the abolishment of slavery is not the eradication of racism. Anti-Black racism persists in Canada today, but the official recognition of the history of slavery in Canada, and celebration of the resilience of African-Canadians and the contributions of Black people to Canadian society is a positive step forward for Burlington and for Canada.
Sources:
Government of Canada. n.d. Emancipation Day – August 1. Canadian Heritage. Url: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/emancipation-day.html (accessed Aug. 1, 2023).
Halton Black History Awareness Society. 2023. 2023 Halton Freedom Celebration Festival —Events. https://www.hbhas.ca/events.php (accessed Aug. 1, 2023).
Henry, N. 2021. Slavery Abolition Act, 1833. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Url: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/slavery-abolition-act-1833 (accessed Aug. 1, 2023).
Wilhelm, T. 2022. Martin Luther King Jr. had special ties to Windsor. Windsor Star. Url: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/martin-luther-king-jr-had-special-ties-to-windsor (accessed Aug. 1, 2023).
