NEWS RELEASE | BLACK HISTORY OTTAWA

Emancipation Day, August 1, commemorates the British parliament’s Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies (including Canada).   

The Act abolished free, forced labour in the British territories.

The Slavery Abolition Act received Royal Assent on August 28, 1833 and took effect on August 1,1834.  Enslaved children under the age of six were “emancipated”  on August 1, 1834.  Enslaved persons over six years of age, were re-designated as “apprentices”. The actual date of their “free papers” was August 1, 1838.    

In addition, enslavers received compensation for being “deprived of their Right” to free forced labour. Nothing was paid to the enslaved. The names of those who received compensation and the amount each claimant  received, are listed in the Database of The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery.   

To mark Emancipation Day, 2022,  J’NiKira Dinqinesh Education Centre-Every Child is Sacred & Black History Ottawa announce the launch of the community-based initiative, “Black History in Ottawa Streets”.    

Black History in Ottawa Streets will document, for community knowledge, street and place names in Ottawa that memorialize the legacies of colonial slave labour and Emancipation. The research pays special attention to names listed in the database.   

Black History in Ottawa Streets include the history of street and place names like, Columbus Avenue, Plantation Drive., Goulburn School, Sir John A Macdonald Parkway; Russell Road; Osgoode Street; Elgin Street and others.    

Black History in Ottawa Streets is linked to the UNESCO led UN Decade for People of African Descent: Development. Recognition. Justice, with people of African descent recognized as a distinct group whose human rights must be promoted and protected.

Contact: Jean Marie Guerrier or June Girvan  [email protected]