Emancipation Day is about all of us

Emancipation Day symbolizes a continuing quest for freedom. In 1834 Britain released an entire race from servitude, but it was only a small, first step to freedom from economic and social bondage.

Nearly two centuries later, freedom continues to be an elusive dream for so many of us everywhere.

In a world that accepted and tolerated the legitimacy of Apartheid, where ethnic cleansing and racism have ravaged entire societies, where hate devours reason, where the mind is still in chains, where economic interests are stronger than human dignity, freedom is yet to be won.

Emancipation Day is a time to recognize that we have made progress. But it is also a time to acknowledge that the journey is incomplete.

It is about reflecting on the struggle of people everywhere, a struggle for equality, dignity and freedom, a struggle immortalized in the words of the poet William Cowper, lamenting the greatest indignity humanity ever inflicted on itself.

Our nation was created through the labour of slaves, and sustained through "A New System of Slavery" in the years of indentureship.

All our people are the product of our history of servitude. And Emancipation Day is about all of us.

The journey to freedom is a long one. Let us continue to travel the road to freedom as one people, one nation committed to equality and dignity for all.

Jai Parasram | Toronto, Aug. 01, 2009

(Watch YouTube video of the Might Sparrow performing "I am a slave")