Emancipation Day: Building a future that honours the limitless potential of Black lives

This First Person article is the experience of Nzingha Millar, a professional communicator and storyteller in Halifax. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

The Slavery Abolition Act is a living and evolving covenant to recognize the humanity of Black lives and the right for generations of Black people in Canada to be free in all senses including freedom of self-actualization.

But when the Act was signed in 1833, two opposing and equally important facts became true: it made British North America, or Canada as it would later be known, the only "free" land for enslaved Black people on this continent but it also only gave that freedom to children under the age of six.

Historians estimate the Act freed about 50 or so children.

Their elders, anyone aged seven and older, transcended their status as property to become "apprentices." The Crown instructed this second group to continue working for the better part of a decade as compensation to their masters.

It's not far off to consider the Slavery Abolition Act as a promissory note.

Instead of giving immediate freedom to Black people living in the British Empire at the time, it asked that they labour as an investment toward the future freedom of the next generation.

There was no guarantee from the moment of its signing they would be treated with the basic respect deserving of humanity. It was always understood that true freedom would be unseen by them as they were, in words my grandmother would use, "not long for this world."

Natasha L. Henry's book Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada captures this feeling as she writes that "each new generation would engage in a liberations struggle because they felt they were still held in bondage by the daily realities of racial discrimination."

What it means to be physically, mentally and spiritually free

Since the beginning of European contact, when Black people were required to assert their personhood in a colonized world, each generation has been charged with defining what "freedom" means to them.

And Emancipation Day has created a forum for this discussion among Black people worldwide.

The earliest Emancipation Day celebrations signified an important moment in the pursuit of sanctity for Black human life. Just as the revolutionaries of the slave era gave birth to our ideals of civil and human rights, Emancipation has forever changed in our collective psyche what it means to be physically, mentally and spiritually free.

We are working toward creating a future that is worthy of what was sacrificed by our grandparents.

As a younger Black Canadian, the sacrifice our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents made in payment for our freedom weighs heavy. The ability to live where we want, to get a good education, find a meaningful job and enjoy a decent life that is (mostly) free from danger and harassment are civil liberties they fought for. For them, freedom existed within limits.

To consider yourself truly free in a world where your ancestors' bodies were considered property just a few generations ago is complex. The effort is belaboured with intergenerational traumas and impeding belief systems. The concept of your life having limitless potential and value is often obscured.

In this new era of Emancipation, we are working toward creating a future that is worthy of what was sacrificed by our grandparents. Their indentureship promised new realities for their children.

Creating a life free of limitation

What we are aspiring toward is further reaching than the systemic and political change that can be found in new laws and policies. What we are really after is self-actualization this is the future of freedom for us.

Choosing to see self-actualization as Emancipation's ultimate goal changes the narrative.

In this scenario, we no longer define the freedom of Black people in relation to our bondage; instead, we are asked to consider the limitless potential of our lives.

We are expected to live earnestly and with purpose, all while keeping in mind the truth that there are Black people in Canada without adequate food, shelter, safety, and other basic human needs affecting their ability to be fully Emancipated.

Happiness, fulfilment and well-being should be within reach for all of us.

Much like the Peace and Friendship Treaties made with the Indigenouspeoples whose land we inhabit, we are all implicated in the process of Emancipation. As a nation, it is our collective responsibility to honour its promise, to all Canadians, by dismantling these barriers.

As we mark this, the first Emancipation Day recognized across the country on August 1, 2021, we assert the freedom to define and redefine ourselves in ways our ancestors could not. This creative licence to be human is bound to bring richer contributions to our families, our workplaces, our communities and our nation.

FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2021 is a youth-led celebration of spoken word, dance, theatre and music, as we gather together to celebrate freedom. Join CBC Arts on Aug. 1 at 1 p.m. ET onCBC GemandYouTube.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.