Emancipation Day
Friday August 1st marked Emancipation Day, a day of remembrance, resilience, and reflection. As a descendant of enslaved Africans from Carriacou, Grenada, Emancipation Day is personal. It calls me to honour the generations before me who survived the brutalities of chattel slavery, and to carry forward the legacy of resistance, community care, and liberation that they forged in the face of unimaginable violence.
My family’s story is shaped by colonialism, first through the transatlantic slave trade, and then through the forced displacement that followed. Like many Afro-Caribbean families, colonization uprooted us, pushing us to migrate in search of dignity, safety, and opportunity. That journey eventually led us to Canada, a country that often positions itself as “multicultural” or “benevolent,” but one that also has its own legacy of slavery and systemic anti-Black racism.
Many don’t know that slavery existed in Canada for over 200 years. Enslaved African and Indigenous peoples were sold, traded, and forced to labour here, not just in the southern U.S. or the Caribbean. Black communities have been organizing for generations to make this truth visible, and to demand that it be named, remembered, and addressed.
Emancipation Day is not just about the past, it’s about the systems we’ve inherited and the futures we are trying to build.
African Ancestral Acknowledgements
At Tamarack, we believe community change is only possible when we name injustice and actively work toward equity. This Emancipation Day, our teams created their own African Ancestral Acknowledgements, paying tribute to those who were brought to these lands as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and celebrating the powerful contributions of ancestors of African descent. View our organizational community acknowledgements for more information.
Starting your Equity Journey
This month, we’re inviting our network to reflect on what it means to start your equity journey. Whether you're just beginning or recommitting to this work, equity isn’t a checklist, it’s a practice. It starts with learning, listening, and locating ourselves in systems that advantage some while marginalizing others. It requires humility, accountability, and a deep commitment to transformation.
For me, equity work isn’t abstract. It’s about my ancestors. It’s about my family. It’s about refusing to forget and choosing to build a future rooted in justice. As we move through August, we invite you to reflect on where your journey begins, and to remember that equity doesn’t start with perfection, it starts with a decision to show up differently.
This Emancipation Day, and throughout the month, may we honour the past by shaping a more liberated future, together.
