Emancipation Day: A time to reflect on resilience, contributions of African heritage

Emancipation Day commemorates the end of slavery in Guyana and is a powerful reminder of the resilience and invaluable achievements of Guyanese people of African heritage.

As a tradition, many Guyanese would come out in their numbers on August 1, at the Botanical Gardens and the National Park, in Georgetown to celebrate the holiday.

Bringing his family out for Emancipation Day has always been a tradition for Trevor Nurse, who is visiting from New York.

“Emancipation Day means a lot to me… [We] need to stay together and love one another. One People, One Nation, One Destiny,” Nurse told the Department of Publication (DPI) at the National Park on Thursday.

Football and rounders are among the games his family members will participate in during the day Nurse said.

For the first time, Reshma Mohamed and her daughter, Nathanya Mohamed from North Sophia, took a stroll in the National Park to partake in the activities.

“I feel excited but my daughter is more excited…Because I am always promising her that we will pass to celebrate this occasion. Luckily, we found two lovely outfits and we decided to come out. We are here to celebrate and enjoy with everyone, especially our African brothers and sisters,” Reshma expressed.

Guyanese Artiste, Kem Chan said, “This life that I have is what my ancestors helped me to get. Music is my form of giving back.”

He hopes that every Guyanese will continue to work towards building a better tomorrow where everyone can prosper.

Vacationing in Guyana, Eartha Dover said Emancipation Day has evolved a lot over the years.

She expressed her amazement at the number of well-informed people about their culture and Guyana being an inclusive nation.

Dover further said, “I am amazed to see the amount of display, especially craft. Back in the day, it wasn’t that much. I think the word is getting around. People are understanding their ancestors and where they come from, so people are participating more. I have noticed that it is not one set of people who are participating, it is inclusive which is important…to learn each other’s culture.”

Over at the Botanical Gardens, Abigail Augustus noted that her family decided to relax and spend time together.

For her family, Emancipation Day is celebrating others’ cultures and traditions.

“…It is [good] to see how much as a people we have come a long way. By putting aside our differences, we can come together and celebrate each other’s holidays.”

At the National Park DPI also caught up with Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, who highlighted that Guyana is not only commemorating emancipation but also the significant contributions of African Guyanese to the development of Guyana.

“During the post-emancipation period, African Guyanese were leaders in their own right. They started the village movement and the village industry when they went into farming. They became artisans, carpenters, and masons. They went into gold mining,” he said.

The prime minister reminded, that Mahdia in Region Eight was built by African Guyanese who went there to do gold mining. 

Meanwhile, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, underlined that Emancipation Day is certainly one of the most important days on Guyana’s calendar and the universal calendar.

“It is the day that slavery was abolished and the enslaved was liberated in the British empire. We resolve to struggle as they did. We resolve to ensure that their sacrifices were not done in vain. We resolve to take into account the accomplishments that they did in dire circumstances in challenging times and use those as lessons to guide us forward,” Minister Nandlall said.

He said this day serves as a reminder for everyone to reflect upon the struggles of their foreparents and those who came to the country in chains.

Following the ultimate abolition of slavery in 1834, Guyana’s social structure and economy experienced significant transformations.

A large number of freed enslaved men and women left the plantations and settled in the communities on the outskirts of Georgetown. Guyana also observes Emancipation Day on this day along with other former British colonies in the Caribbean.