An event commemorating Emancipation Day was held Monday at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.
It was meant to recognize the joy the day can bring, while acknowledging the struggles black people face in the past and present.
Last year, the House of Commons voted unanimously to designate August 1 as Emancipation Day across Canada. On August 1, 1834, the British Parliament abolished slavery throughout the British Empire, including Canada.
The event held in London to celebrate the day included live music, games and presentations on black history.
CBC News came to the event to speak with those in attendance.
Fauzia Agbonhin is a Nigerian spoken word artist who was asked to recite her poetry at the event. His poetry addressed the positive influences of Emancipation Day, but also the struggles black people continue to face.
“You have all these post-emancipation slavery scars and it’s like we’re in this glass cage of pain and torment,” she said.
“It’s so hard for people to realize that the period had everlasting effects on us.”
She said some of the effects include the fight against racism, microaggressions and high incarceration rates for black people and police brutality.
Agbonhin said he experienced racism at school growing up in Canada
“People tried to touch my hair, treating me like a petting zoo. I know once I was compared to a slave by a classmate,” she said.
Agbonhin said that in the United States the racism is blatant and in Canada the racism is more subtle and involves microaggressions.
Kareem Allen is a black business co-owner who is opening a Jamaican specialty store in London this fall called “Dem Stush Jamaicans.” She said celebrating Emancipation Day was about black empowerment. She said it was important so her 10-year-old daughter could learn more about her story.
“If she can come here to learn more in terms of education, that’s where my importance lies, and that’s where success lies for me,” she said.
Allen is Jamaican, but said she doesn’t know much about her own family history and doesn’t have a deep connection to her past.
“It breaks my heart,” she said, adding that she wasn’t very aware of her past until she started her business.
Allen said she was very happy to learn of the event so she could discuss the story with her daughter.
Carl Cadogan is from the Caribbean and is the chairman of the London Black History Coordinating Committee. He helped organize the event at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.
“Canadians don’t realize that there was slavery in what was then called Upper Canada,” he said.
“We’re kind of slowly trying to create energy and build history in London,” he said.
Cadogan said Emancipation Day is important to Canadian history because it is not taught in schools as it should be. He said he wanted people to recognize that there was slavery in Canada, and also emancipation.
“We want people to know more, we want to educate the community,” he said.
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