HALIFAX,
NS, July 30, 2024 /CNW/ - On August 1, 2024, Parks Canada, alongside the
Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs, the Canadian Museum of
Immigration at Pier 21, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, and the Jamaican Cultural
Association of Nova Scotia, are
pleased to present a series of events to honour and commemorate
Emancipation Day and the enduring legacy of the Jamaican Maroons in
Nova Scotia.
The full day of events will begin at 9:45
a.m. at Halifax Citadel National Historic Site with a
special Emancipation Day flag raising and proclamation, followed by
a special plaque unveiling ceremony to commemorate the national
historic significance of the Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia.
The afternoon events begin at 1:30
p.m. at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 with
the opening of the exhibit A History Exposed: The Enslavement of
Black People in Canada,
followed by an Emancipation Day roundtable discussion at the Black
Cultural Centre at 4:00 p.m. with
members of Canada's Parliamentary
Black Caucus.
Please note that this advisory is subject to change
without notice.
The details are as follows:
Date:
|
Thursday,
August 1, 2024
|
Proclamation and plaque unveiling
Time:
|
Flag raising begins at
9:45 a.m. (ADT)
Official ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. (ADT)
Media are asked to arrive no later than 9:45 a.m.
(ADT)
|
|
|
Location:
|
Halifax Citadel
National Historic Site
5425 Sackville Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
|
Exhibit opening
Time:
|
1:30 p.m.
(ADT)
|
|
|
Location:
|
The Canadian
Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
1055 Marginal Rd
Halifax, Nova Scotia
|
Roundtable discussion
Time:
|
4:00 p.m.
(ADT)
|
|
|
Location:
|
The Black
Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia
10 Cherry Brook Rd
Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia
|
Emancipation Day
- Emancipation Day is the day the Slavery Abolition Act became
law in the British Empire and ended the practice of slavery for
millions of African People and their descendants around the world.
The Act became law on August 1, 1834,
marking the first Emancipation Day.
- Emancipation Day is important because it allows all Canadians
to acknowledge and hold open discussions about our shared history
of the enslavement of people of African ancestry here in
Canada.
- Everyone can and is encouraged to recognize Emancipation Day as
it is a part of our shared history. Visit this website and our
events page for a list of programs and events across Nova Scotia.
Jamaican Maroons in Nova
Scotia
- The Government of Canada and
Parks Canada, through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of
Canada, recognizes significant
persons, places, and events that have shaped our country as one way
of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these
stories with Canadians, we hope to foster understanding and
reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and
realities of Canada's past and
present.
- In 2022, the Jamaican Maroons in Nova
Scotia was officially designated as an event of national
historic significance under Parks Canada's National Program of
Historical Commemoration. On August
1, the plaque will be unveiled at Halifax Citadel National
Historic Site.
- The Jamaican Maroons were formerly enslaved peoples of African
ancestry and their descendants who had lived in relative
independence and isolation in Trelawny Town, Jamaica. In 1796, almost everyone from the
town – approximately 150 families or more than 500 adults and
children – were forcibly transported to the British colony of
Nova Scotia. The experiences of
the more than 500 Jamaican Maroons forcibly transported to
Nova Scotia in 1796 exemplified
the insecure rights and freedoms of African-descended British
subjects in the late 18th century.
A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in
Canada
- The exhibit, A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black
People in Canada, runs from
August 1, 2024, to January 5, 2025, at the Canadian Museum of
Immigration at Pier 21. Discover the experiences of enslaved Black
people in Canada through
individual biographies and archival records. Learn how slavery came
to be in Canada and find out who
were Canada's enslavers.
- Slavery played a significant role in the early settlement of
Canada and its legacy can be seen
and felt today.
- For more than two centuries, the majority of Africans in
Canada were enslaved.
- From 1629 to 1834, both the French and British colonial regimes
made laws that legalized slavery. Enslavers had property rights
that allowed them to buy, sell, trade, and dispose of Black
enslaved people in any way they wished.
- The enslavement of Black people in Canada was part of the larger system of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade which tore upward of 12-15 million people
from the shores of Africa to the
Americas.
SOURCE Parks Canada (HQ)