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What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth (short for June nineteenth, 1865) commemorates the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the United States in 2021. The holiday is also called “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.”
In Canada, the end of slavery is commemorated on Emancipation Day. In 2021, the House of Commons unanimously designated August 1st as Emancipation Day.
In Canada, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ended slavery on August 1, 1834. Between the mid-17th century and 1834, it was recorded that there were 4,185 enslaved people. Of that number, 2,683 were enslaved Indigenous Peoples. The majority of those enslaved were young women, with the average age being as young as 14 years old. It is reported that 57% of enslaved Indigenous peoples were girls or young women.
To learn more about Juneteenth: https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth-digital-toolkit
To learn more about Emancipation Day: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/emancipation-day.html
