View source for Emancipation Day

{{Short description|Holiday to celebrate emancipation of enslaved people}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Slavery}}
'''Emancipation Day''' is observed in many former European colonies in the [[West Indies]] and parts of the [[United States]] on various dates to commemorate the [[emancipation]] of [[African slave trade#Abolition|slaves of African descent]].

In much of the [[British West Indies|former British West Indies]], Emancipation Day is usually marked on 1 August, commemorating the anniversary of the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] coming into force on 1 August 1834. However, in some countries, it is marked instead on the first Monday in August. The observance of a holiday in the British West Indies also became a key mobilisation tool and holiday for the [[Abolitionism in the United States|antislavery movement in the United States]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kerr-Ritchie |first=Jeffrey R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aPYCwAAQBAJ |title=Rites of August First: Emancipation Day in the Black Atlantic World |date=2011 |publisher=LSU Press |isbn=978-0-8071-4364-3 |language=en}}</ref> 

Emancipation Day is also observed in other areas in regard to the abolition of other forms of [[involuntary servitude]].

==1 August or the first Monday in August==
[[File:Political Evolution of Central America and the Caribbean 1830 na (cropped).png|thumb|300px|right|Political history of the Caribbean and Central America, 1830]]
The [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]], which abolished slavery throughout the [[British Empire]] (with the exceptions "of the Territories in the Possession of the [[East India Company]]", the "Island of [[Ceylon]]" and "the Island of [[Saint Helena]]"; the exceptions were eliminated in 1843), came into force the following year, on 1 August 1834.

The legislation only freed slaves below the age of six. Enslaved people older than six years of age were re-designated as "apprentices" and required to work 40 hours per week without pay, as part of [[Slave Compensation Act 1837|compensation]] payment to their former owners. Full emancipation was finally achieved at midnight on 31 July 1838.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=The West Indian colonies and emancipation |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliament-and-empire/parliament-and-the-american-colonies-before-1765/the-west-indian-colonies-and-emancipation/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=UK Parliament |language=en}}</ref>

The holiday is known as August Monday in [[Guyana]], [[Dominica]], the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]], and the [[British Virgin Islands]], among other territories, as it is usually commemorated on the first Monday in August. [[Saint Lucia]] celebrates the holiday on 1 August 

===Antigua and Barbuda===
[[Antigua and Barbuda]] celebrates carnival on and around the first Monday of August. Since 1834 [[Antigua and Barbuda]] have observed the end of slavery. The first Monday and Tuesday in August was observed as a bank holiday so the populace can celebrate Emancipation Day. Monday is [[J'ouvert]], a street party that mimics the early morning emancipation.

===Anguilla===
[[Anguilla]]: In addition to commemorating emancipation, it is the first day of "August Week", the Anguillian [[Carnival]] celebrations. [[J'ouvert]] is celebrated 1 August, as Carnival commences.

===The Bahamas===
In the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]], while Emancipation was historically observed on 1 August,<ref name=dgs2017>{{Cite book |last=Saunders |first=Gail |title=Race and Class in the Colonial Bahamas, 1880-1960 |publisher=University Press of Florida |year=2017 |edition=Kindle |location=Gainesville, Florida |pages=49-51, 170-171, 217|language=en}}</ref> the public holiday is observed on the first Monday in August and is, therefore, also colloquially referred to by the public as "August Monday". The public holiday has been observed in the Bahamas from as early as 1973,<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |date=May 8, 1973 |title=June is a Month for Holidays! |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00084249/03341/zoom/0 |access-date=22 March 2025 |work=The Tribune newspaper |location=Nassau, Bahamas |pages=1 |quote=Bahamas Information Services today released a revised list of holidays for the remainder of 1973 and Bahamas have four weekend holidays coming up... the two day Independence holidays on July 10 and 11, followed on Monday, August 6 by Emancipation Day.}}</ref> a month and a half after the country's independence. 

Celebrations for the day are traditionally concentrated in [[Fox Hill (Bahamas Parliament constituency)|Fox Hill]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], a former slave village whose inhabitants, according to folklore, heard about their freedom a week after everyone else on the island. 

The day was also a day on which friendly societies marched to Government House and presented a list of grievances for the previous year.<ref name=dgs2017></ref> In 1938, seven to 800 people marched and demonstrated on 1 August for labour reforms a [[secret ballot]] at elections.<ref name=dgs2017></ref> Today, the Labour Day public holiday would more likely be chosen to express similar sentiments.

On the island as [[Eleuthera]], the celebration known as the Bay Fest, close to Emancipation Day and lasting several days, is held in the settlement of [[Hatchet Bay]] on the island of Eleuthera, and "Back to the Bay" is held in the settlement of [[Tarpum Bay]], also on Eleuthera.

===Barbados===
Emancipation Day in [[Barbados]] is part of the annual "Season of Emancipation", which began in 2005. The Season runs from 14 April to 23 August.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hutchinson|first1=Nekaelia|title=Season of Emancipation Launched|url=http://gisbarbados.gov.bb/index.php?categoryid=9&p2_articleid=12196|website=Barbados Government Information Service|access-date=11 August 2016|date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Oldfield2007">{{cite book|last1=Oldfield|first1=J. R.|title=Chords of Freedom: Commemoration, Ritual and British Transatlantic Slavery By J. R.|date=2007|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719066658|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wdk-IaORr6oC&q=barbados+%22Season+of+Emancipation%22&pg=PA165|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> Commemorations include:
* the anniversary of [[Bussa's rebellion]], a major [[slave rebellion]] in 1816, 14 April
* National Heroes Day, 28 April;
* [[Crop Over]] festival, which includes May, June and the first week of August
* Africa Day, 25 May
* Day of National Significance, which commemorates the [[British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–39|Labour Rebellion of 1937]], 26 July
* Emancipation Day, 1 August
* birthday of [[Marcus Garvey]], 17 August
* [[International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition]], 23 August

Emancipation Day celebrations usually feature a walk from [[Independence Square (Barbados)|Independence Square]] in [[Bridgetown, Barbados|Bridgetown]] to the Heritage Village at the Crop Over Bridgetown Market on the Spring Garden Highway. At the Heritage Village, in addition to a concert, there is a wreath-laying ceremony as a tribute to the ancestors. Traditionally, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Culture, and representatives of the Commission for Pan African Affairs are among those laying wreaths.

===Belize===
{{Main|Public holidays in Belize}}
Starting in 2021, Belize joined other Caribbean nations in observing Emancipation Day on 1 August to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the Caribbean in 1834.<ref name="belize_holidays">{{cite web |title=Emancipation Day in Belize in 2021 |url=https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/belize/emancipation-day |website=Office Holidays |access-date=15 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Bermuda===
[[Bermuda]] celebrates its Emancipation Day on the Thursday before the first Monday in August, placing it in either July or August.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bermuda-online.org/pubhols.htm|title=Bermuda's Public Holidays in 2016, 2017 and 2018}}</ref>

==== Cup Match ====
Emancipation Day is marked by the [[Cup Match]], a two-day public holiday and cricket match, played by residents of the island, is unique to Bermuda. Cup Match started when members of Friendly Societies and Lodges in [[Somerset Village, Bermuda|Somerset]] in the west and [[St. George's Parish, Bermuda|St. George's Parish]], in the east, gathered to mark the anniversary of the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|abolition of slavery]]. In 1902 a silver cup was introduced to the tournament, and that year the first official Cup Match cricket match was played on 12 June 1902. In the Public Holidays Act 1947 national public holidays were introduced on the Thursday and Friday before the first Monday in August, they were named Cup Match Day and Somers Day (named after [[George Somers]], the founder of Bermuda).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nisbett |first=Khaliah |date=2018-07-27 |title=The Important Link between Cup Match and Emancipation in Bermuda |url=https://www.gov.bm/articles/important-link-between-cup-match-and-emancipation-bermuda |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=www.gov.bm |language=en}}</ref> 
In 1999 Cup Match Day was renamed Emancipation Day, and Somers Day was renamed Mary Prince Day in February 2020 to remember Bermudan writer and enslaved woman [[Mary Prince]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Jonathan |date=2021-07-23 |title=One year late, Mary Prince Day will be celebrated at Cup Match |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/politics/news/article/20210723/one-year-late-mary-prince-day-will-be-celebrated-at-cup-match/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=www.royalgazette.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===British Virgin Islands===
[[British Virgin Islands]]: The first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of August are celebrated as "August Festival".

===Canada===
In March 2021, the [[Canadian House of Commons]] voted unanimously on a motion to recognize 1 August as Emancipation Day across Canada. However, [[Black Canadians|Black Canadian]] communities have commemorated Emancipation Day since the 1800s, most notably Black communities in the towns of [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]], [[Owen Sound]], [[Amherstburg]], and [[Old Sandwich Town|Sandwich]], in [[Ontario]], and provinces including [[New Brunswick]] and [[Nova Scotia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henry|first=Natasha L.|url=|title=Emancipation Day : celebrating freedom in Canada|date=2010|publisher=Natural Heritage Books|isbn=978-1-55488-717-0|location=Toronto|oclc=}}</ref>

The first of August marks the day the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] ended slavery in the British Empire in 1834 and, thus, also in Canada. However, the first colony in the British Empire to have anti-slavery legislation was [[Upper Canada]], now Ontario. [[John Graves Simcoe]], the first [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario|Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada]], passed the 1793 [[Act Against Slavery]], banning the importation of slaves and mandating that children born to enslaved women would be enslaved until they were 25 years old, as opposed to in perpetuity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1623|title=Upper Canadian Act of 1793 Against Slavery National Historic Event|website=Parks Canada|access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref> This was the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to abolish the slave trade and limit slavery.<ref name=nlhce>{{cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=Natasha L. |title=Slavery Abolition Act, 1833 |journal=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=14 July 2014 |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/slavery-abolition-act-1833}}</ref> The Act Against Slavery was superseded by the Slavery Abolition Act.

In 2022, the celebrations of Emancipation Day in Canada were declared a [[Events of National Historic Significance|National Historic Event]] by [[Parks Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parks Canada Agency |first=Government of Canada |date=2023-08-01 |title=Celebrations of Emancipation Day — National Historic Event - Celebrations of Emancipation Day National Historic Event |url=https://parks.canada.ca/culture/~/~/link.aspx?_id=26B8C2D5C32747618F6C430E2FF25525&_z=z |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=parks.canada.ca}}</ref>

====Nova Scotia====
Emancipation Day was set on 1 August by the [[Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia]] on 13 April 2021. The event is marked with a provincial ceremony, as well as community-led events. [[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia]] [[Arthur LeBlanc]] said in 2022, "as a province, we come together to renew our commitment to equity, peace, and dignity for all. We continue to structure our institutions and communities around the value of inclusion so that past harms are not repeated." The province also recognizes 23 August as the [[International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition]], in recognition of people of African descent in Haiti and the Dominican Republic fighting for their freedom in 1791.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220729003| title=Nova Scotia Commemorates Emancipation Day| date=29 July 2022| publisher=Government of Nova Scotia| accessdate=6 August 2022}}</ref>

====Ontario====
{{See also|Caribana}}
[[File:Moses Brantford Jr. leading an Emancipation Day parade down Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg, Ontario (I0027817).tiff|thumb|Moses Brantford Jr. leading an Emancipation Day parade down Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg, Ontario, 1894]]

In 2008, the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|provincial legislature]] designated 1 August as ''Emancipation Day''. The act of parliament stated in its preamble: "it is important to recognize the heritage of Ontario’s Black community and the contributions that it has made and continues to make to Ontario. It is also important to recall the ongoing international struggle for human rights and freedom from repression for persons of all races, which can be best personified by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Accordingly, it is appropriate to recognize 1 August formally as Emancipation Day and to celebrate it."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_08e25_e.htm|title=Law Document English View|work=Ontario.ca|date=24 July 2014}}</ref>

Notable Emancipation Day commemoration include The Big Picnic, organised by the Toronto Division of the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League|Universal Negro Improvement Association]] (UNIA), which attracted thousands of attendees from the 1920s through to the 1950s. The first The Big Picnic was held in 1924, at Lakeside Park, in the community of [[Port Dalhousie, Ontario|Port Dalhousie]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marano|first=Carla|date=2014|title="We All Used to Meet at the Hall": Assessing the Significance of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Toronto, 1900–1950|journal=Journal of the Canadian Historical Association|language=en|volume=25|issue=1|pages=143–175|doi=10.7202/1032801ar|issn=0847-4478|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1932, the first Emancipation Day Parade was held in [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] and would come to be known as the "greatest freedom show on Earth". Organized by Walter Perry, the parade and festival boasted famous guests like [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King Jr]], [[Mary McLeod Bethune]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Benjamin Mays]], [[Fred Shuttlesworth]], [[Martha Reeves]] and [[Martha and the Vandellas|The Vandellas]], and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]. Though Perry's death in 1968 had a significant influence on the end of the tradition, fears over the [[Detroit Riot of 1967]] caused the city's councillors to deny organizers necessary permits to stage an Emancipation Day celebration.<ref>{{cite news|title='A huge part of our local history': A look back at Emancipation Day in Windsor|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/history-of-emancipation-day-in-windsor-1.5234007|date=2 August 2019|access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Windsor's Emancipation Day history turning into documentary series|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/emancipation-day-documentary-1.5470715|access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref> [[Owen Sound]] has celebrated Emancipation with a picnic for 157 years, and now holds an Emancipation Festival.<ref name=nlhce/>

Toronto hosts the [[Toronto Caribbean Carnival]] (known as Caribana until 2006), which is held the first Saturday in August of [[Civic Holiday]], observed on the first Monday of August. Started in 1967, it is a two-week celebration culminating in the long weekend, with the Kings and Queens Festival, Caribana parade, and [[Olympic Island]] activities.

===Cayman Islands===
Following approval from Cabinet, Emancipation Day was reinstated after 62 years and is now being celebrated on the first Monday in May as a public holiday. May 5 in 2025 Other Caribbean nations celebrate Emancipation Day in August. The Cayman Islands celebrates in May as there was no mandatory apprenticeship for freemen. This is due to slave owners not registering with the British<ref>Cite|web|title=https://www.gov.ky/ysch/weh-we-from/emancipation-day|access-date=5-5-2025</ref>

===Dominica===
[[Dominica]]: The first Monday is celebrated as August Monday. It marks the end of slavery in 1834.<ref>{{cite web |title=Emancipation Day in Dominica in 2021 |url=https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/dominica/emancipation-day |website=Office Holidays |access-date=5 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Grenada===
[[Grenada]]: The first Monday in August is celebrated as Emancipation Day with Cultural activities.

===Guyana===
[[Guyana]]: The first of August is celebrated as Emancipation Day with Cultural activities, and events; including family gathering where they cook traditional food such as cook-up.

===Jamaica===
[[File:Emancipation Park-Statues-1.jpg|thumb|''Redemption Song'' by [[Laura Facey]] (2003), [[Emancipation Park (Kingston, Jamaica)|Emancipation Park]], Kingston, Jamaica]]
1 August, Emancipation Day in [[Jamaica]] is a public holiday and part of a week-long cultural celebration, during which Jamaicans also celebrate [[Independence of Jamaica|Jamaica Independence Day]] on 6 August 1962. Both 1 August and 6 August are public holidays.

Emancipation Day had stopped being observed as a nation holiday in 1962 at the time of independence.<ref name="Modest 2011">{{cite book|last1=Modest|first1=Wayne|editor1-last=Smith|editor1-first=Laurajane|display-editors=etal|title=Representing Enslavement and Abolition in Museums: Ambiguous Engagements|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|page=79|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n26pAgAAQBAJ&q=spanish+town+emancipation+day&pg=PA79|access-date=11 August 2016|chapter=Slavery and the (Symbolic) Politics of Memory in Jamaica|isbn=9781136667381}}</ref> It was reinstated as a national public holiday under The Holidays (Public General) Act 1998 after a six-year campaign led by [[Rex Nettleford]], among others.<ref name="Oldfield2007" /><ref>{{cite web|title=How we celebrate Emancipation Day|url=http://www.emancipationpark.org.jm/about-us/emancipation-day-celebration.php|website=Emancipation Park, Jamaica|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Holidays (Public General) Act|url=http://moj.gov.jm/laws/holidays-public-general-act|website=Ministry of Justice|access-date=11 August 2016|archive-date=6 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006125308/http://moj.gov.jm/laws/holidays-public-general-act|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Traditionally people would keep at vigil on 31 July and at midnight ring church bell and play drums in parks and public squares to re-enact the first moments of freedom for enslaved Africans.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Amber|title=Jamaica: The Culture|date=2004|publisher=Crabtree Publishing|isbn=9780778793328|url=https://archive.org/details/jamaicaculture00wils|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/jamaicaculture00wils/page/14 14]|quote=emancipation day jamaica.}}</ref> On Emancipation Day there is a reenactment of the reading of the Emancipation Declaration in town centres especially [[Spanish Town, Jamaica|Spanish Town]] which was the seat of the Jamaican government when the Emancipation Act was passed in 1838.

[[Emancipation Park (Kingston, Jamaica)|Emancipation Park]], a public park in Kingston, opened on the eve of Emancipation Day, 31 July in 2002, is named in commemoration of Emancipation Day.<ref name="TnTNewsday 2012">{{cite news|title=The History of Emancipation Day|url=http://newsday.co.tt/features/0,164153.html|access-date=11 August 2016|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|date=1 August 2012|archive-date=12 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912074111/http://newsday.co.tt/features/0,164153.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Development of Emancipation Park|url=http://www.emancipationpark.org.jm/about-us/development-of-epark.php|website=Emancipation Park Jamaica|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref>

===Saint Kitts and Nevis===
[[Saint Kitts and Nevis]]: The first Monday and Tuesday of August are celebrated as "Emancipation Day" and also "Culturama" in Nevis.

===Saint Vincent and the Grenadines===
[[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] also celebrates Emmancipation day annually on August 1.

The Act for the Abolition of Slavery in St. Vincent was transmitted to Britain on May 28, 1834. On the first of August in the year 1834, a total of 18,102 individuals who were previously enslaved transitioned into the status of apprentices.

A total of 2,959 children under the age of six were promptly released, along with 1,189 individuals who were either elderly or physically unable to care for themselves.

The enslaved individuals residing on the island of St. Vincent (SVG) were granted “complete emancipation” on August 1, 1838, following a period of “partial freedom” that was initially granted to them in 1834 through the enactment of the Abolition Act.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stvincenttimes.com/emancipation-day-remembering-the-end-of-slavery-in-st-vincent/ | title=Emancipation Day: Remembering the End of Slavery in St. Vincent (SVG) | date=August 2023 }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.searchlight.vc/features/2022/07/31/emancipation-day-in-st-vincent-a-look-back-to-august-1-1838/ | title=Emancipation Day in St Vincent – A look back to August 1, 1838 - Searchlight | date=31 July 2022 }}</ref>

=== South Africa ===
[[File:Emancipation Day - Old Town House CT 2016.jpg|thumb| Emancipation Day celebrations in [[Greenmarket Square]], [[Cape Town]] at midnight, 1 December 2016]]

The [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] came into full effect in the [[Cape Colony]] on the 1 December 1838, after a four-year period of forced apprenticeship. About 39,000 enslaved people were freed and £1.2&nbsp;million<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/history-slavery-and-early-colonisation-sa-timeline-1602-1841|title=History of Slavery and early colonisation in SA timeline 1602-1841|last=Anonymous|date=2011-03-31|website=www.sahistory.org.za|access-date=2016-11-30}}</ref> (roughly equivalent to £4,175,000,000 as a proportion of GDP in 2016 pounds)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/relativevalue.php|title=1838 vs 2015 pound value – Economic Cost|date=1 December 2016|website=MeasuringWorth.com|publisher=Measuring Worth|access-date=1 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508164733/https://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/relativevalue.php|archive-date=2016-05-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> – of £3&nbsp;million originally set aside by the British government – was paid out in compensation to 1,300 former slave holding farmers in the colony.<ref name=":0" />

1 December is celebrated as Emancipation Day in South Africa most notably in the city of [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2015-12-03-slaves-south-africas-first-freedom-fighters|title=Slaves: South Africa's first freedom fighters|last=Pather|first=Ra'eesa|newspaper=The M&G Online|access-date=2016-11-30}}</ref>

=== Trinidad and Tobago ===
It has been said that on 1 August 1985, [[Trinidad and Tobago]], as an independent country, became first former British territory to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Emancipation Day |url=http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Research/SubjectGuide/EmancipationDay/tabid/189/Default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809111618/http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Research/SubjectGuide/EmancipationDay/tabid/189/Default.aspx |archive-date=9 August 2016 |access-date=11 August 2016 |website=National Library and Information System Authority, Trinidad and Tobago}}</ref> However, Emancipation Day has been observed as a public holiday in the Bahamas as far back as 1973.<ref name=":6" />

In Trinidad and Tobago, Emancipation Day replaced Columbus Discovery Day, which commemorated the arrival of [[Christopher Columbus]] at [[Moruga]] on 31 July 1498, as a national public holiday.<ref name="Sookraj2011">{{cite web |last1=Sookraj |first1=Radhica |date=2011 |title=Moruga residents celebrate Emancipation, Discovery day |url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/08/11/moruga-residents-celebrate-emancipation-discovery-day |access-date=12 August 2016 |website=Trinidad and Tobago Guardian}}</ref><ref name="Schramm2016">{{cite book |last1=Schramm |first1=Katharina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ct9mDAAAQBAJ&q=trinidad+emancipation+day&pg=PA150 |title=African Homecoming: Pan-African Ideology and Contested Heritage |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315435404 |page=150}}</ref>

The commemoration begins the night before with an all-night vigil and includes religious services, cultural events, street processions past historic landmarks, addresses from dignitaries including an address from the [[Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago]] and ends with an evening of shows that include a torchlight procession to the national stadium.<ref>"Trinidad and Tobago Emancipation Day." ''Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary'', edited by Helene Henderson, Omnigraphics, Inc., 5th edition, 2015. ''Credo Reference'', http://cordproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hfcwd/trinidad_and_tobago_emancipation_day/0?institutionId=4015 . Accessed 15 Jan 2018.</ref><ref name="Winer2009">{{cite book |last1=Winer |first1=Lisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_n82hsbDJBMC&q=trinidad+emancipation+day&pg=PA327 |title=Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles |date=2009 |publisher=McGill-Queen |isbn=9780773576070 |page=327}}</ref>

== Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean – July 1 ==
On 1 July 1863, slavery was abolished in the colonies of [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]], which included [[Suriname]] and the Caribbean islands of [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], [[Sint Maarten]], [[Saba (island)|Saba]], [[Sint Eustatius]], and [[Bonaire]] (known today as the [[Dutch Caribbean]]).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Zaken |first=Ministerie van Algemene |date=2022-10-21 |title=Slavery Memorial Year 1 July 2023 to 1 July 2024 - Ministry of Education, Culture and Science - Government.nl |url=https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-education-culture-and-science/events/slavery-memorial-year |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=www.government.nl |language=en-GB}}</ref> However, much of the enslaved population had to continue working on the plantations for an additional 10 years in order to mitigate the "loss caused by this measure" to the plantation owners.<ref name=":1" /> Today, 1 July is an official holiday in Suriname and Sint Eustatius, but not anywhere else in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hofland |first=Tessa |date=2023-06-29 |title=First July took on a different meaning for these students after they came to the Netherlands |url=https://www.erasmusmagazine.nl/en/2023/06/29/first-july-took-on-a-different-meaning-for-these-students-after-they-came-to-the-netherlands/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Erasmus Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Koninkrijksrelaties |first=Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en |date=2024-02-22 |title=Official holidays - Social affairs & work - Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland |url=https://english.rijksdienstcn.com/social-affairs-work/employment/official-holidays |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=english.rijksdienstcn.com |language=nl-NL}}</ref> 

=== Suriname ===
{{Main|Keti Koti}}
On 1 July, [[Keti Koti]] ([[Sranantongo]]: "the chain is cut" or "the chain is broken")<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=van Stipriaan |first=Alex |title=Caribbean Transnationalism: Migration, Pluralization, and Social Cohesion |date=2006 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9780739113974 |editor-last=Gowricharn |editor-first=Ruben S. |language=en |chapter=Between Diaspora TransNationalism and American Globalization A History of AfroSurinamese Emancipation Day |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NR1upOe8KKMC&q=keti+koti+suriname&pg=PA155}}</ref> is the celebration that marks Emancipation Day in [[Suriname]], a former colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It marks the date when slavery was abolished in Suriname in 1863. The day also remembers that enslaved people in Suriname would not be fully free until 1873, after a mandatory 10-year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and with state sanctioned force.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |date=30 October 2017 |title=Afschaffing van de slavernij? In Suriname ging het nog tien jaar voort |url=https://decorrespondent.nl/7530/afschaffing-van-de-slavernij-in-suriname-ging-het-nog-tien-jaar-voort/2939316396390-e0e5cdf0 |access-date=30 June 2020 |website=De Correspondent |language=nl}}</ref> On 1 July 1955, Keti Koti officially became a public holiday in Suriname.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |date=1 July 2024 |title=Zo herdenk je Ketikoti |url=https://www.eo.nl/artikel/zo-herdenk-je-ketikoti |access-date=3 August 2024 |website=eo.nl |language=nl}}</ref>

=== Dutch Caribbean ===
The islands of the Dutch Caribbean commemorate emancipation on July 1.

* On Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Bonaire, Emancipation Day is commemorated on 1 July, but it is not an official public holiday.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Info |date=2023-06-29 |title=SXM TALKS: SINT MAARTEN: THE POPULATION INVITED TO CELEBRATE THE 160TH ANNIVERSARY OF EMANCIPATION DAY |url=https://www.visitstmaarten.com/sxm-talks-sint-maarten-the-population-invited-to-celebrate-the-160th-anniversary-of-emancipation-day/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=St. Maarten / St. Martin |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sint Maarten observes 'No more auction block' on Emancipation Day {{!}} Loop Caribbean News |url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/sint-maarten-observes-no-more-auction-block-emancipation-day |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Loop News |language=en}}</ref> On Saba, Emancipation Day is a civil servant holiday (i.e., all government offices are closed).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-26 |title=Emancipation Day and Community Events |url=https://saba-news.com/emancipation-day-and-community-events/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Saba News |language=en-US}}</ref>
* On Sint Eustatius, Emancipation Day is commemorated on 1 July as an official public holiday.<ref name=":2" /> In January 2021, Island Council of St. Eustatius voted to replace [[List of Caribbean carnivals around the world|Carnival Monday]] with Emancipation Day a public holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Department |first=Graphics |date=2021-01-14 |title=Emancipation Day to become public holiday in St. Eustatius |url=https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/emancipation-day-to-become-public-holiday-in-st-eustatius#:~:text=EUSTATIUS--The%20Island%20Council,kingdom%20on%20July%201,%201863. |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Daily Herald |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==French West Indies==
The French West Indies includes eight territories currently under [[France|French sovereignty]] in the [[Antilles]] islands of the Caribbean:

*[[Martinique]] commemorates emancipation with a national holiday on 22 May,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Romero |first=Ivette |date=6 May 2009 |title=Emancipation Days in Martinique and Guadeloupe |url=https://repeatingislands.com/2009/05/06/emancipation-days-in-martinique-and-guadeloupe/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Repeating Islands |language=en}}</ref> marking the slave resistance on that day in 1848 that forced Governor [[Claude Rostoland]] to issue a decree abolishing slavery.<ref>Elisa Bordin and Anna Scacchi (eds), [https://books.google.com/books?id=fG4xCgAAQBAJ&q=mitterand&pg=PA107 ''Transatlantic Memories of Slavery: Remembering the Past, Changing the Future''], Cambria Press, 2015, p. 107.</ref>
*[[Guadeloupe]] commemorates emancipation on 27 May.<ref name="RI">[https://repeatingislands.com/2009/05/06/emancipation-days-in-martinique-and-guadeloupe/ "Emancipation Days in Martinique and Guadeloupe"], ''Repeating Islands''.</ref>
*[[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]] has a week-long celebration around 28 May, commemorating the abolition of slavery.<ref>[http://www.frenchcaribbean.com/Saint-Martin/Things-to-Do/Saint-Martin-Sint-Maarten-Calendar-Local-Events-St-Marteen/ "Saint Martin/Sint Maarten Events, Calendar"], FrenchCaribbean.com.</ref>

== Central America ==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}

=== Nicaragua ===
On the Caribbean Coast of [[Nicaragua]] the emancipation of slavery took place in the month of August 1841 but with different dates. [[Bluefields]] and [[Pearl Lagoon]] received their emancipation on 10 August 1841. [[Corn Islands|Corn Island]] received its emancipation on 27 August 1841.

==United States==
{{see also|Juneteenth|Emancipation Proclamation}}

=== District of Columbia – 16 April ===
The [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] observes 16 April as Emancipation Day. On 16 April 1862, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] signed the [[District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act]], an act of [[Compensated emancipation]], for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=012/llsl012.db&recNum=407 Chap. LIV. 12 Stat. 376] from [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875"]. [[Library of Congress]], [[Law Library of Congress]]. Retrieved 19 October 2009.</ref> The Act, introduced by Massachusetts senator and ardent abolitionist [[Henry Wilson]], freed about 3,100 slaves in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his broader [[Emancipation Proclamation]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Nason, Elias|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/48098939|title=The life and public services of Henry Wilson : late vice-president of the United States|date=1876|publisher=B.B. Russell|oclc=48098939}}</ref> The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to former owners of emancipated slaves.<ref name="DC Celebrates Emancipation">[http://os.dc.gov/release/dc-celebrates-emancipation-day ''DC Celebrates Emancipation''], Government of the District of Columbia</ref>

On 4 January 2005, [[Mayor of Washington, D.C.|Mayor]] [[Anthony A. Williams]] signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official [[public holiday]] in the District.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lims.dccouncil.us/Download/4486/B15-0827-ENROLLMENT.pdf|title=District of Columbia Emancipation Day Amendment Act of 2004}}</ref> Although Emancipation Day occurs on 16 April, by law when 16 April falls during a weekend, Emancipation Day is observed on the nearest weekday.<ref>DC Department of Human Resources from [http://dchr.dc.gov/page/holiday-schedule "Holiday Schedule (2011 Holiday Schedule)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512123814/http://dchr.dc.gov/page/holiday-schedule |date=2013-05-12 }}</ref> This affects the [[Internal Revenue Service]]'s [[Tax Day|due date for tax returns]], which traditionally must be submitted by 15 April. As the federal government observes the holiday, it causes the federal and all state tax deadlines to be moved to 18 April if Emancipation Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday and to 17 April if Emancipation Day falls on a Monday.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wgntv.com/2016/04/12/the-real-reason-why-tax-day-was-moved-to-april-18/|title=The real reason why tax day was moved to 18 April|last=Staff report|date=12 April 2016|publisher=[[Tribune Media]]|access-date=13 April 2016}}</ref> Each year, activities are now held during this observed holiday, including the traditional Emancipation Day parade. The parade had taken place yearly from 1866 to 1901.<ref>[https://emancipation.dc.gov/page/ending-slavery-district-columbia], DC Emancipation parades continued from 1866 to 1901.</ref> After a 101-year hiatus, DC's parade resumed in 2002, just three years ahead of the new holiday.<ref>[https://www.whitehousehistory.org/emancipation-day], White House Historical Association - The city revived the parades in 2002 as a result of the research, lobbying and leadership of Ms. [[Loretta Carter Hanes]].</ref>

===Florida – 20 May===
{{further|History of slavery in Florida|African Americans in Florida}}
The [[U.S. state|state]] of [[Florida]] observes emancipation in a ceremonial day on 20 May. In the capital, [[Tallahassee]], [[Civil War reenactors|Civil War re-enactors]] playing the part of [[Major General]] [[Edward M. McCook|Edward McCook]] and other [[Union (American Civil War)|union soldiers]] act out the speech General McCook gave from the steps of the [[Park Avenue Historic District (Tallahassee, Florida)#Notable Buildings|Knott House]] on 20 May 1865.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flheritage.com/museum/mfh/calendar/ |title=Knott House Museum Exhibits & Programs |access-date=2007-05-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608154621/http://www.flheritage.com/museum/mfh/calendar/ |archive-date=2007-06-08 }}</ref> This was the first reading of the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in Florida.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flheritage.com/museum/sites/knotthouse/ |title=Knott House Museum |access-date=2007-05-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527225954/http://www.flheritage.com/museum/sites/knotthouse/ |archive-date=2007-05-27 }}</ref>

===Georgia – Saturday closest to 29 May===
{{further|History of slavery in Georgia (U.S. state)|African Americans in Georgia (U.S. state)}}
[[Thomaston, Georgia]], has been the site of an Emancipation Day celebration since May 1866. Organizers believe it is "the oldest, continuously observed annual emancipation event in the United States."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/6175-emancipation-proclamation-celebration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115005735/http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/6175-emancipation-proclamation-celebration|title=Emancipation Proclamation Celebration - Thomaston, Georgia|archive-date=2017-01-15|url-status=dead|access-date=2019-06-10}}</ref>  The annual event is scheduled for the Saturday closest to 29 May. [[William Guilford]] was an early organizer of the event first held in 1866.

=== Kentucky and Tennessee – 8 August ===
{{further|History of slavery in Kentucky|History of slavery in Tennessee|African Americans in Tennessee}}
[[File:Celebration_at_Greeneville.jpg|thumb|"Celebration at Greeneville," organized by [[Sam Johnson (Tennessee)|Sam Johnson]], "late a slave of [[Andrew Johnson]]," article published on page 4 of the ''Knoxville Daily Chronicle'', 9 August 1871]]
Emancipation Day is celebrated on 8 August in Hopkinsville, Christian County; Paducah, McCracken County; and Russellville, Logan County Kentucky, as well as other communities in western Kentucky and for many years in Southern Illinois in [[Hardin County, Illinois|Hardin County]]. According to the ''Paducah Sun'' newspaper, this is the anniversary of the day slaves in this region learned of their freedom in 1865. According to a PBS documentary, it celebrates the liberation of the people enslaved by U.S. President [[Andrew Johnson]], one of whom started the annual celebration in eastern Tennessee.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/ARGAsxFaJo4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200619212432/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARGAsxFaJo4&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARGAsxFaJo4| title = 8th of August: Tennessee's Celebration of Emancipation | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=2018-08-03|title=The Eighth of August: Emancipation Day in Tennessee|url=https://tennesseehistory.org/eighth-august-emancipation-day-tennessee/|access-date=2021-08-20|website=Tennessee Historical Society|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1938, [[William Andrew Johnson|William A. Johnson]], who was born enslaved to Andrew Johnson in 1858, spoke at a Tennessee Emancipation Day celebration at [[Chilhowee Park]].<ref name="emancipation1937">{{Cite news |date=1937-08-06 |title=William Andrew Johnson speaks at August 8th Event, 1937 |pages=3 |work=The Knoxville Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-journal-william-andrew-joh/78863484/ |access-date=2023-05-17}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Johnson is one of the last surviving slaves in this section. 1 January was designated as Emancipation day but Andrew Johnson freed his slaves 8 August and Negroes of East Tennessee have always observed that date as Emancipation day. The celebration this year has been changed to 9 August because 8 August is on Sunday.<ref name="emancipation1937" />}}

=== Maryland – 1 November ===
Emancipation Day is celebrated in Maryland on 1 November. Maryland started officially recognizing Emancipation Day in 2013, when then-Governor Martin O’Malley signed a measure to celebrate the freeing of slaves in Maryland on 1 November . Slavery was abolished in Maryland just six months before the end of the Civil War. Maryland's slavery abolishment also was approved two months before the U.S. Constitution's 13th Amendment was passed by Congress, and a full year before the 13th Amendment was ratified.<ref name="Staff">{{Cite web|last=Staff|first=Source of the Spring|date=2020-11-01|title=County, State Leaders Declare Emancipation Day|url=https://www.sourceofthespring.com/montgomery-county/county-state-leaders-declare-emancipation-day/|access-date=2020-11-26|website=Source of the Spring|language=en-US}}</ref>

On 1 November 2020, Maryland Governor [[Larry Hogan]] issued a proclamation recognizing Maryland Emancipation Day. "156 years ago, a new state constitution abolished slavery in Maryland. I have issued a proclamation recognizing Maryland Emancipation Day as we reflect on the legacies of the brave Marylanders who risked everything so that they and others might enjoy the promise of freedom."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/govlarryhogan/status/1322901708587048968|access-date=2020-11-26|website=Twitter|language=en|title=Governor Larry Hogan on X: '156 years ago, a new state constitution abolished slavery in Maryland. I have issued a proclamation recognizing Maryland Emancipation Day as we reflect on the legacies of the brave Marylanders who risked everything so that they and others might enjoy the promise of freedom. / X}}</ref>

On 30 October 2020, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council President Sidney Katz, on behalf of the entire Council, presented a joint proclamation Friday proclaiming Sunday, 1 November, as “Emancipation Day” in Montgomery County.<ref name="Staff"/>

=== Massachusetts - 8 July ===
{{further|History of slavery in Massachusetts}}
Massachusetts Emancipation Day, also known as Quock Walker Day, was established by the state legislature in 2022 and first legally observed statewide in 2023.<ref name="globe" /> It was observed in the [[Lexington, Massachusetts|town of Lexington]] starting in 2020.<ref name="globe">{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/08/metro/lexington-celebrates-first-massachusetts-emancipation-day/ |title=Lexington celebrates first Massachusetts Emancipation Day |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=8 July 2023 |author=Sarah Raza}}</ref> The observance commemorates the 1783 decision in the [[freedom suit]] of [[Quock Walker]], which found slavery to be an unenforceable legal arrangement under the [[1780 Massachusetts Constitution]]. Massachusetts became the first state to record zero slaves in the [[1790 United States census|federal census of 1790]], as slavery was abandoned in favor of [[indentured servitude]] or paid [[employment]].<ref name="globe" />

===Mississippi – 8 May===
{{further|History of slavery in Mississippi|African Americans in Mississippi}}
In [[Columbus, Mississippi]], Emancipation Day is celebrated on 8 May, known locally as "Eight o' May". As in other southern states, the local celebration commemorates the date in 1865 when African Americans in eastern Mississippi learned of their freedom.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/05/emancipation-day-commemoration-from-columbus-mississippi/361971/ |title=Emancipation Day Commemoration in Eastern Mississippi |date=8 May 2014 |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] |author=James Fallows |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref>

Though the 13th amendment was ratified by the necessary three-quarters vote, Mississippi withheld its ratification document after the constitutional amendment was submitted to the states.  Mississippi finally submitted the ratification document on 7 February 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/mississippi-officially-abolishes-slavery-ratifies-13th-amendment/ |title=Mississippi Officially Abolishes Slavery, Ratifies 13th Amendment |date=19 February 2013 |access-date=6 May 2017 |author=Ben Waldron |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/ |title=Constitutional Amendment Process |publisher=National Archives |date=15 August 2016 |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref>

=== South Carolina – 1 January ===
{{Further information|History of slavery in South Carolina|African Americans in South Carolina}}
In South Carolina, Emancipation Day is celebrated on 1 January. There are two reasons for the date. First, 1 January 1808, marked an official end to United States participation in the Atlantic slave trade. Additionally, on 1 January 1863, Colonel [[Thomas Wentworth Higginson]] read the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on that day, to the members of the [[1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colored)]], which at the time was stationed in [[South Carolina Lowcountry|coastal South Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Katz |first=William L. |author-link=William Loren Katz |date=30 December 2015 |title=1 January 1863: When New Year's Day Meant Freedom |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/january-1-1863-when-new-years-day-meant-freedom/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927211251/https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/january-1-1863-when-new-years-day-meant-freedom/ |archive-date=27 September 2022 |access-date=2 May 2024 |website=[[BlackPast.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kytle |first=Ethan J. |date=26 July 2022 |orig-date=17 May 2016 |title=Emancipation Day celebrations |url=https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/emancipation-day-celebrations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619182422/https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/emancipation-day-celebrations/ |archive-date=19 June 2023 |access-date=2 May 2024 |website=[[South Carolina Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>

===Texas – 19 June "Juneteenth"===
{{main article|Juneteenth}}
{{further|History of slavery in Texas|History of African Americans in Texas}}
In [[Texas]], Emancipation Day is celebrated on 19 June. It commemorates the announcement in Texas of the abolition of slavery made on that day in 1865 in [[Galveston, Texas]]. It is commonly known as [[Juneteenth]]. Since the late 20th century, this date has gained recognition beyond Texas, and became a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] in 2021. Celebratory traditions often include readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs, rodeos, street fairs, family reunions, cookouts, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests.

===Virginia – 3 April===
[[File:Emancipation Day in Richmond, Virginia, 1905.jpg|thumb|Emancipation Day, April 3, in Richmond, Virginia, 1905]]
In [[Richmond, Virginia]], 3 April is commemorated as Emancipation Day. 3 April marks the day, in 1865, that Richmond fell to the Union Army, who were led by the [[United States Colored Troops]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimball|first=Gregg D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EbaegVbQ1sC|title=American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond|date=2003-11-01|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2546-0|language=en}}</ref>

=== Territories ===

==== Puerto Rico – 22 March ====
{{further|Slavery in Puerto Rico|Afro-Puerto Ricans}}
[[Puerto Rico]] celebrates Emancipation Day ({{native name|es|Día de la Abolición de Esclavitud|paren=omit}}), an official holiday, on 22 March. Slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873 while the island was still a colony of Spain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/slaves.html |title= Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico |work=World of 1898 |publisher= Library of Congress |access-date=1 March 2016}}</ref>

====U.S. Virgin Islands – 3 July====
{{further|Slavery in the Danish West Indies}}
[[File:BuddhoeFrederiksted.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Buddhoe]] at [[Fort Frederik]], St. Croix]]
The [[United States Virgin Islands]] celebrates V.I. Emancipation Day as an official holiday on 3 July. It commemorates the [[Denmark|Danish]] Governor [[Peter von Scholten]]'s 1848 proclamation that "all unfree in the [[Danish West Indies]] are from today emancipated," following a [[slave rebellion]] led by [[John Gottlieb]] (Moses Gottlieb, General Buddhoe) in [[Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Frederiksted]], [[Saint Croix]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/timeline/the-slave-rebellion-on-st-croix-and-emancipation/ | title=The slave rebellion on St. Croix and Emancipation | publisher=Rigsarkivet | access-date=2018-08-12}}</ref>

In addition to recognising Emancipation Day, since 2017 the full week leading up to 3 July has been recognised as Virgin Islands Freedom Week.<ref name="FreedomWeekProclamation">{{cite executive order | number=2017-06-26 | url=http://aphj2sd.com/files/documents/2017-Virgin-Islands-Freedom-Week.pdf | title=Virgin Islands Freedom Week | date= 2017-06-26 | language=en | post=Governor of the United States Virgin Islands | access-date=2020-07-03}}</ref> Emancipation Day, Freedom Week, and the culmination of St. John Festival are celebrated throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands with concerts, dancing, workshops, a historical skit, and a reenactment of the walk to Fort Frederik.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://stthomassource.com/content/2020/07/02/usvi-commemorating-172-years-since-emancipation-with-virtual-concerts-marches-and-more/ | title=USVI Commemorating 172 Years Since Emancipation with Virtual Concerts, Marches and More | date=2 July 2020 | publisher=The St. Thomas Source | access-date=2020-07-03}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Abolitionism]]
* [[Fifth of July (New York)]]
* [[Juneteenth]]
* [[Kwanzaa]]
* [[Slave Trade Act]]s
* [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Juneteenth}}
{{U.S. Holidays}}
{{Season of Emancipation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:August observances]]
[[Category:Black Canadian culture]]
[[Category:Emancipation day]]
[[Category:History of slavery in the District of Columbia]]
[[Category:Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)]]
[[Category:International observances]]
[[Category:July observances]]
[[Category:June observances]]
[[Category:March observances]]
[[Category:May observances]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Canada]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Types of secular holidays]]