Emancipation story,Port-of-Spain, August 5, 1834

“For some time previous to this great day it had been plainly expressed by our slaves here that they had not the slightest intention of working for their masters after the 31st of July. “It was decided by them that the King had freed them right out and that the apprenticeship was a job got up between their masters and the Governor. Their masters were ‘dam tief’ the Governor an ‘Old Rogue’ and the King not such a Fool as to buy them half free when he was rich enough to pay for them altogether.”

— The Gazette, Port-of-Spain, August 5, 1834, in Historical Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Publication No 256.

About 192 years ago, Africans occupied the streets of Port-of-Spain to demand their freedom. Tomorrow, those streets will once again be filled with Afro-Trinbagonians proudly claiming the culture and identity their ancestors fought to preserve. African Emancipation Day must preserve African culture while confronting the conditions affecting people of African descent today. The culture that survived enslavement must be taught, supported and valued as part of our national identity.

TTPS statistics show the urgency: Afro-Trinidadians accounted for 34.2 per cent of the population in the last census, yet they made up 65 per cent of murder victims in 2023. That year, 136 Afro-Trinidadians aged 30 and under were murdered. The violence affecting some predominantly African communities cannot be ignored, minimized or excused. It is destroying lives, and those responsible must be held accountable. Emancipation must therefore create space for an honest conversation about personal responsibility, stronger families, responsible leadership, education and employment. We cannot celebrate African resilience while refusing to confront what is destroying lives today.