Today marks 189 years since the end of slavery, August 1, 1834, and regarded as Emancipation Day, several countries throughout the Caribbean region, in particular, took time out to commemorate the occasion.
It brings back memories of the horrors African descendants endured on the plantations, and even the struggles to have the inhumane slave trade abolished.
The commemoration falls on this day taking into account the Afro-centric generations that have evolved from that era of torment.
The day is usually designated in several former British West Indian colonies as a Bank holiday, accommodating celebrations in accordance with the reflections.
Grenada recognizes the day and several activities are being held around this period, but the first Monday in August is being designated a Bank holiday when commemorations take on a rather official and popular tone.
However, Grenada today joined in with other countries relative to the ancestral occasion, with a 1st of August celebration under the theme: “In the spirit of Emancipation: Reclaiming Our African Identity”.
The Grenada Cultural Foundation (GCF) in collaboration with the Grenada National Reparations Committee (GNRC) hosted what’s labeled as the annual Emancipation Libation ceremony in St. George’s, which included a short march and a cultural affair in the Market Square.
The general view of the freedom of slavery, according to pundits of history, is that capitalism was under economic pressure and slavery had become a hindrance to the total transformation of the old economic British system.
