MESSAGE OF PRIME MINISTER, THE HONOURABLE MRS KAMLA PERSAD-BISSESSAR, SC, MP, ON THE OCCASION OF AFRICAN EMANCIPATION DAY, 2025
UNITED VOICE
MESSAGE OF PRIME MINISTER, THE HONOURABLE MRS KAMLA PERSAD-BISSESSAR, SC, MP, ON THE OCCASION OF AFRICAN EMANCIPATION DAY, 2025
(Friday, August 1, 2025)
Today, as Trinidad and Tobago marks the 187th anniversary of African Emancipation Day, I extend heartfelt greetings to all citizens as we reflect on one of the most profound and defining milestones in our national and global history.
This day honours the courage and resilience of millions of African ancestors who endured the brutal Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, a centuries-long atrocity that exiled over 11 million Africans to the Americas to be enslaved and exploited for the building of the New World.
Stripped of liberty and dignity, they were unimaginably brutalised and denied basic human rights. Yet, through faith, strength, and collective will, they rose against injustice and reaffirmed their rightful dignity as human beings, laying the moral foundation for the freedoms we enjoy today.
In 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the first nation to declare African Emancipation Day a public holiday. This bold and visionary step inspired countries such as Jamaica, Barbados, Suriname, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Canada, South Africa, and several U.S. states to follow suit.
African Emancipation Day is not only a remembrance of suffering overcome, but a celebration of what has been built. The contributions of African descendants continue to shape our society, from national festivals and cultural expressions to academic, political, and global leadership.
Emancipation is not confined to history—it is a living call to justice, dignity, and inclusion. As we honour our ancestors, let us also uplift those still striving for recognition and opportunity.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminds us:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, (but) we shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Happy African Emancipation Day, Trinidad and Tobago.
Let freedom forever ring, and let us always aspire, as a people, to move forward as a nation in unity, purpose, and pride.
May God always bless our nation.
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