As the first country in the world to honor the abolition of African enslavement, Trinidad and Tobago celebrated Emancipation Day on August 1, 1985, when the government of the day designated it a national holiday.
Beginning this year, African Emancipation Day will be the name of the official holiday.
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On April 18, 2024, Whitehall hosted a Post Cabinet Media Briefing, where Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the news to the group.
He stated, “The time has come for us to make it quite clear what Emancipation means, and who’s being emancipated and from what.”
The prime minister explained why particularity was required, citing his observations “at the international level that other people are attempting to climb onto the Emancipation bandwagon and are attempting to add appendages to it.”
PM Rowley further mentioned, “We in Trinidad and Tobago who led on this matter will have none of it and we make it quite clear that Emancipation in Trinidad and Tobago is as a result of the emancipation of slaves; and there’s no comparison between slavery and any other form of human indignation.”
“We, the descendants of slaves, we have a duty to preserve our history, our legacy, and make our claim without apologies to anyone.”
August 1st is Emancipation Day, observed by several Caribbean countries including Barbados, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, and The British Virgin Islands.
Several government agencies and interested parties in Trinidad and Tobago organize many events and activities in the weeks preceding the Emancipation holiday. One of the centerpieces of the celebrations is the Emancipation Village, which has African-inspired crafts, music, clothes, and other items. Another is Kamboule.
