Iqaluit celebrates Emancipation Day
Nunavut Black History Society hosted the territory’s first-ever Emancipation festival on Saturday and Sunday
Performers from Edmonton-based SocaFit performed the limbo to Soca music, which is a mix of African and East Indian rhythm that has blended with other genres such as reggae, Latin and cadence over time. (Photo by Meral Jamal)
Updated on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 at 4 p.m.
Approximately 300 Iqalummiut joined in Nunavut’s first-ever Emancipation Festival events over the weekend, held to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in the 1800s.
The Nunavut Black History Society hosted the two-day event Saturday and Sunday at the Astro Theatre and Cadet Hall which included a diverse lineup of live music. A Sept. 16 screening of the movie The Woman King, attended by about 165 people, was part of the festival.
The Nunavut Black History Society hosted the two-day event Saturday and Sunday at the Astro Theatre and Cadet Hall which included a diverse lineup of live music. Through music, dance and poetry, residents joined in on what the society’s director Steven White called “a celebration of all the things we have accomplished.”
In 2021, the House of Commons voted unanimously to designate Aug. 1 — the date when the Slavery Abolition Act took effect — as Emancipation Day in Canada.
Nunavut Black History society president Stephanie Bernard kicked off the two-day Emancipation festival by sharing spoken word and poems such as "The Song of the Bananaman" by Evan Jones that explore the history of slavery, the experience for people of African descent, and its abolishment in 1834. (Photo by Meral Jamal)
Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify the crowd size at Emancipation Festival events.
These events had way more people than dozens. Correction needed. Hundreds is accurate.