By Rebecca Gruszka, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In honour of Emancipation Day on August 1, the Halton Black History Awareness Society (HBHAS) will be celebrating with the 2024 Halton Freedom Celebration Festival, to take place on August 3, 2024, at Spencer Smith Park.
The festival will run from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., and is free to attend; donations for the Burlington Food Bank will be accepted on site at the park.
The day will include entertainment from MCs Dejehan “Luckystickz” Hamilton and Shelley Hamilton with musical interludes by Mike “DJ GIBS” Gibson, and a land acknowledgement from WhiteEagle Stonefish. Live performances are scheduled throughout the event, with music from The Exclusive Connection (TEC), Garnetta and DaGroovmasters, Leroy Emmanuel and LMT Connection, Lou Pomanti and Oakland Stroke, and Michael Dunston and Soulstew.
In addition to music, there will be activities for attendees of all ages, including basketball and limbo competitions, drum and art workshops, art in the park, food trucks and cultural cuisine, and youth activities.
“The Halton Freedom Festival is a multi-cultural celebration of enslaved emancipation,” says Dennis Scott, chair of the Halton Black History Awareness Society. The festival honours the multicultural individuals and groups, such as the Quakers, Indigenous people, and many others who supported freedom and the Underground Railroad process.
Scott also emphasized that recognizing August as Emancipation Month honours Canadian Black history and its contributors. It also serves to acknowledge that the emancipation process started in the Burlington, Brantford, Hamilton, and Niagara areas, and was “the impetus in the 1834 British Commonwealth Abolition of Slavery [with] the 1793 Act against Slavery — which abolished new slaves being brought into what is now Canada,” Scott notes.
During the Freedom Celebration Festival in 2018, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward acclaimed August as Emancipation Month in the City of Burlington; Burlington has since been recognized as the first city to do this. It was only in March 2021 that the House of Commons voted to officially designate August 1 as Emancipation Day, which is the day in 1834 that the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect across the British Empire.
Scott shared that the festival gives “credibility to the value of inclusion, engagement, diversity, and community progress” and by having diverse people and cultures involved, the festival and HBHAS’ other projects promote “inclusivity, equality, and individuality…through storytelling, keynote speeches, panel management and discussions, educational support, and presentations to educators and students.”
Scott believes that “working together will promote progressing together.” Despite their name, the Halton Black History Awareness Society is not focused solely on Black history, although that is a big part of their work; indeed, the driving principle for HBHAS and Scott is that “multicultural engagement will improve relationship development, self-identity, Canadian history, Canadian Black history and community knowledge.”
HBHAS itself is a multicultural community group focused on implementing cultural education into the public and institutional mindset to promote positive relations with marginalized communities and other individuals. Scott, quoting statistics from the 2016 Canadian Census, points out that Halton has the fastest-growing visible minority population in Canada, so fostering positive relationships amongst all people is increasingly important.
In addition to celebrating history, the festival emphasizes community support. For this year’s Freedom Festival, HBHAS has again partnered with the Burlington Food Bank; festival attendees are encouraged to support the food bank by bringing donations. The Burlington Food Bank provided a current list of the most needed items, which includes cereal (hot and cold), soups, juice, granola bars (peanut-free), peanut butter, crackers, canned fruit, canned tomatoes, canned vegetables, and canned meat. The festival will also enable participants to register to volunteer with the food bank.
The Freedom Festival is not HBHAS’ only annual event; there is also the Emancipation Art Exhibition (opening July 24 at Halton Hills’ Helson Gallery), the Emancipation Day flag raising at City Hall (on Aug. 1 at 11 a.m. this year), and their student essay contest. Then there’s the HBHAS Gospel presentation, and HBHAS Presents, all towards their goal of “learning, uncovering and promoting Canadian Black History towards a progressive inclusive future,” as stated on their website.
For more information on HBHAS and their events, click here to go to their website and get ready for the Freedom Festival on Aug. 3.
Sources
Government of Canada. 2023, July 26. Emancipation Day—August 1. Canadian Heritage. Url: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/emancipation-day.html#a6 (accessed July 22, 2024).
