Everything about Emancipation Day totally explained
Emancipation Day is celebrated in various locations in observation generally of the emancipation of slaves.
Caribbean
Emancipation Day is widely observed in the
British West Indies during the first week of
August. The
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on
August 1,
1834. In many Caribbean countries, the Emancipation Day celebration is a part of
carnivals which take place during this time.
Bermuda
Emancipation Day is a national holiday in
Bermuda on
August 1, though it's usually celebrated on
August 2. On the island the holiday is better known as the first day of "Cupmatch", an annual two day bipartisan
cricket competition, between the opposing St. George's and Somerset cricket clubs.
Barbados
On the island of
Barbados, emancipation is observed on August 1. The celebration includes various events held at Emancipation Roundabout in
St. Michael. This location is the site of a statue honoring "massa", the leader of the slave revolt at Bailey's Plantation.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Emancipation Day is celebrated every year on August 1st in Trinidad and Tobago. This celebration is in remembrance of the full freedom of slaves from plantations and masters and the gaining of personal autonomy.
Bahamas
Emancipation Day is more commonly referred to in the
Bahamas as
August Monday as it's celebrated on the first Monday in August. Celebrations are mainly concentrated in Fox Hill village,
Nassau - a former slave village whose inhabitants, according to folklore, heard about their freedom a week after everyone else on the island.
Anguilla
In Anguilla, August Monday is the first Monday in August. Although it also commemorates the Emancipation Act, it's also the first day of "August Week", the Anguillian
carnival celebrations.
Jouvert morning is celebrated on this day, as carnival commences.
Others
Guyana and Jamaica celebrate on August 1. The
Turks and Caicos Islands observe a national holiday for Emancipation Day on August 7.
United States
Florida
The
state of
Florida observes emancipation in an unofficial commemoration on
May 20th. In the capital,
Tallahassee,
Civil War reenactors playing the part of
Major General Edward McCook and other
union soldiers act out the speech General McCook gave from the steps of the
Knott House on
1865-05-20. This was the first reading of the
Emancipation Proclamation in Florida.
Washington, D.C.
The
municipality of
Washington, D.C., celebrates
April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in
1862, President
Abraham Lincoln signed the
Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the
District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous
Emancipation Proclamation which presaged the eventual end of
slavery to the rest of the nation. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to former owners of emancipated slaves. as a direct result of years of research, lobbying and leadership done by Ms. Loretta Carter-Hanes.
In 2007, the observance of this holiday in Washington DC had the effect of nationally extending the 2006 income tax filing deadline from the 16th to the 17th of April, a delay that will recur in April of 2012. This 2007 date change wasn't discovered until after many forms went to print.
Texas
In Texas, Emancipation Day is celebrated on
June 19. It commemorates the announcement in Texas of the abolition of slavery made on that day in 1865. It is commonly known as
Juneteenth.
Puerto Rico
The
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico celebrates Emancipation Day, an official holiday, on
March 22.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Emancipation Day'.
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