Today marks Juneteenth, an American holiday celebrating the historical moment in 1865 when enslaved African-Americans in Texas were informed that the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (which freed them) came into effect with the end of the American Civil War. However, this holiday has no significance for me, yet I see the similarities between Juneteenth and the holiday of Emancipation Day here in Canada.

Growing up in Canada, Emancipation Day on August 1st had always been a day of reflection and celebration in my family. This day marks the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834. My family are Jamaican Jews. We are a blended family that contained Sephardic Jews and enslaved Black Jamaicans, so the legacy of slavery was apparent in my family tree.

Slavery in the Caribbean, in particular in Jamaica, was utterly brutal; the island's economy was heavily dependent on sugar plantations, which required a large, expendable labour force. The sugar plantations in Jamaica operated under extremely harsh conditions. Enslaved Africans were forced to work long hours. The brutal working conditions, combined with inadequate food, poor living conditions, and lack of medical care, led to widespread disease and high death rates.

The island was known for having one of the highest mortality rates for enslaved Africans in the Caribbean. Moreover, the punishment for enslaved people who resisted or attempted to escape was severe. Plantation owners and overseers used a range of brutal methods to maintain control and instill fear, including whipping, mutilation, and execution. The legal system in Jamaica supported such extreme measures, often codifying harsh punishments for acts of resistance.

Not to mention, slavery existed in Canada, and a mix of enslaved Indigenous Canadians & Africans were present in Lower and Upper Canada; when I was in school, this dark chapter of Canadian history was skipped over. Just like how American history is taught, Canada was no better when it whitewashed our historical legacy of racism and slavery. Public and private schools here in this country should not ignore that dark colonial legacy; if anything, they should reinforce that we must do better as a society.

Even to this day, A 2022 poll by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies revealed that most Canadians either don't know (29%) or don't believe (32%) that slavery was ever legal in Canada.

That is an educational institutional failure.

Education and learning should not just be dynamic but reveal the truth, offer critical thinking skills, and challenge students, which ADRABA does but many others don't.

In the Canadian context, many assume that Juneteenth is a holiday that we should celebrate, and my question for them is, what is it for? By doing so, we focus on Americanism, which states that Canada is in this sea of progress and enlightenment. We must realize by doing so, it hurts not just the Black Canadian community but the Jewish Black Canadian community.

Juneteenth should be used as a teaching method in our education system to raise awareness of Emancipation Day and our dirty little secret.

For me, these holidays are a source of pride and inspiration. They remind me of the strength and resilience that runs through my veins and the importance of carrying forward the legacy of my ancestors. As a Black Jew, I am committed to honouring their memory by working towards a future where freedom and justice are realities for all.