Remembering, Honouring, and Committing to Justice
August 1 is Emancipation Day in Canada.
It is a day to remember, to reflect, and to honour the resilience, strength, and contributions of people of African descent whose lives and communities were forever shaped by centuries of enslavement.
For more than 400 years, millions of African peoples were captured, forced to migrate, and subjected to horrific treatment under the transatlantic slave trade system. Families were separated. Languages, cultures, and identities were targeted for erasure. More than 15 million people of African descent were affected. This horrific system resulted in the deaths, torture, and abuse of Black peoples, and has had intergenerational effects.
The impacts of enslavement were not limited to distant places or distant history.
People were enslaved in what is now Canada. While enslavement was legally abolished across the British Empire on August 1, 1834, its legacy did not end there. The legacies of enslavement are directly linked to anti-Black racism today.
Emancipation Day invites truth-telling about that history and the current realities of racial injustices.
As a church, we are called not only to remember the past but also to respond in the present.
At the most recent General Council, the United Church also took an important action by committing to a process that may lead to a formal apology for the church's historic connections to enslavement. A working group has begun this work and will bring recommendations to the next General Council in 2028. This reflects a growing understanding that truth-telling, accountability, and repair are essential parts of reconciliation and justice. An apology is not the end of the story. But it is part of a process of repair and healing.
The United Church of Canada has also committed to engaging with the United Nations’ Second International Decade for People of African Descent, joining a global commitment to recognize the themes of justice, recognition, and development and to continue to confront anti-Black racism.
A history of enslavement is also not the only part of the story for Black peoples in Canada. Emancipation Day can also be a day to honour the endurance, faith, leadership, and contributions of Black communities. Black people have been part of the United Church since before church Union and continue to shape The United Church of Canada through ministry, worship, scholarship, advocacy, and community and prophetic leadership. Emancipation Day can be a day to celebrate freedom now, with festivals and parades.
On this Emancipation Day, may we re-commit to confronting anti-Black racism and historical injustices and together continue to build a church with better places of belonging for people of all identities.