Acting Chief Cultural Officer, Jacinta David, is calling on nationals from all walks of life to explore the detrimental effects of slavery on the Dominican society and “Break the chains of mental slavery”- the Cultural Division’s mantra for Emancipation Day 2015.
Addressing the launching of Emancipation Day celebrations on Wednesday, July 22nd David said it is important that nationals embrace the struggles and celebrate the freedom of their ancestors.
“It is an occasion to pay tribute to those who gave up their lives in that struggle and to those who died during the Atlantic crossing and as a result of inhumane conditions and brutality of slavery. It is an occasion to celebrate who we are as a people and a time to reflect on our freedom.”
According to the Acting Chief Cultural Officer, for decades slavery’s detrimental effects has been evident in the manner in which individuals socialize, in the way they treat the environment, in cultural values among other factors.
August 1st 2015 will mark the 181st anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Dominica and the 201st anniversary of the death of Jacko, Dominica’s paramount Maroon Chief.
Emancipation celebrations this year will run from July 22nd to August 9th, 2015.
A major highlight of the celebrations is opening of art exhibition at the Old Mill Cultural Center on Wednesday July 29th and a film and rap session titled- Haiti and the Dominican Republic at the UWI on Thursday 30th July 2015.
Another popular event, carded for August 1st, is the Golden Drum Awards; Dominica’s most prestigious cultural award.
The observance of Emancipation Day continues with an Emancipation Wending with a concert at the emancipation monument at Peebles Park on Friday 31 July 2015. Celebrations will climax with the annual Nature Island Literary Festival at the UWI Open Campus from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August.
Emancipation Day is celebrated in many former British colonies in the Caribbean. The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.