Emancipation Day




On Sunday we celebrated Emancipation Day in Canada. There were lots of comments on Social Media about how we have not done enough, gone far enough and about how other racialized groups are also struggling. And they are not wrong. But the day is about celebrating how far we have come, not how much further we need to go. It is remembering and learning from our history that enables us to take the next steps.

So let’s celebrate the educators that are trying to fix the lack of Black history in School curriculums in Nova Scotia, BC and Ontario. We spent some time going through these resources. Very well done indeed. We will remember John Graves Simcoe’s act to end slavery in Upper Canada and Walter Perry who organized the Emacipation Day parade in Windsor for 35 years. We can reflect on the life of Viola Desmond as she looks at us every time we pull out a tenner and we can’t help but think of Lincoln Alexander every time we drive the “Linc” in Hamilton.


Canada’s NDP, the Ontario NDP and the Milton NDP stand with you, brothers and sisters, as we celebrate what so many black people have accomplished while we continue to fight racism and injustice in the present day.

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