NEWS RELEASE
GUELPH BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY
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The Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) is hosting their annual Emancipation Day celebration on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. The GBHS celebrates Emancipation Day to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people of African descent. In 2008, Ontario officially declared August 1st Emancipation Day in the province. In 2021, the Government of Canada voted unanimously to designate August 1st as Emancipation Day across Canada.
The Emancipation Day “Freeing our Ancestors” event will be held at the Heritage Hall at 83 Essex Street, Guelph and begin at 3pm and go to approximately 6pm. Suggested donation of $10 per person.
Come celebrate with us and enjoy music, spoken word, dance and cultural foods. Activities will also include the Pan-African flag raising, “Freeing our Ancestors' ceremony and blessing.
We will be “Freeing our Ancestors” to acknowledge the trauma and reflect on the devastations that our ancestors and our community continue to face and endure. The GBHS has received donations of a variety of items which are racist in nature including minstrel and blackface items. The “codifying of blackness” in blackface minstrelsy through specific makeup, language, and movement created a legacy of racial stereotypes. Blackface is an assertion of power and control; it allows a society to routinely and historically imagine Black individuals as not fully human. Blackface minstrel shows were once commonplace in Guelph. More information can be found at WWI and Jim Crow – The Black Past in Guelph: Remembered and Reclaimed
- Raising the Pan-African Flag
The event will begin with the raising of the Pan-African flag. The Pan-African flag consists of three equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black and green and it is a symbol of Black liberation. Red is the colour of the blood that is shed for our redemption and liberty; black is the colour of the noble and distinguished race to which we belong; green is the colour of the luxuriant vegetation of our Motherland. - Dance to the Music of DJ Jinx
- Learn Traditional and Modern African Dance Movements.
Join Afro-Tribal as they demonstrate traditional and modern African dance movements. Using drumming, as they step into the rich vein of African tribal moves from Sierra Leone, West Africa, Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana etc. The rhythm flows through every continent, transforming each culture it touches with the powerful and soulful movement of its vibrant people. The modern movements are done using today's pop African artists such P Square, Bracket, and Flavour. These exciting and eccentric pop songs will get you moving. - Enjoy a Spoken Word performance by Natalie-Ann Brown
- Learn Caribbean Dance Movements – Soca with The Kween Company.
Soca with Kween celebrates Caribbean and African Culture combining soca, dancehall, and afro music to help get your body moving. This is a fast-moving, fun-cardio, “spiritual” time to trace traditional dancehall steps bringing it into modern day soca while learning rhythmic moves. Bring your runners and YOUR RAG (a small rag or flag, nothing larger than a cloth napkin) and get ready to dance! - “Freeing our Ancestors” Ceremony and Blessing
Reflect on the devastations that have preceded us and celebrate the courage that allowed following generations to embrace a freedom that many others could only dream. - Try a taste of the Caribbean with food from Big Jerk Smoke House and The Katering Group
- Cool down with beverages from Laza Food & Beverage.
Proceeds from Emancipation Day Jamboree will go towards the Give a Cup Capital Campaign. The mission of the Give A Cup Campaign is freedom. Free us from our mortgage so that we will be able to allocate additional resources towards our on-going #ChangeStartsNow Education Initiative. The #ChangeStartsNow Education Initiative provides educational programming on Black history and culture as well as relevant resources on diversity, discrimination and anti-racism.
The Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) is a registered charity. Registration # 80158 3907 RR0001. Tax receipts will be issued for donations greater than $25.
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