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'We are out here celebrating': Calgarians mark Emancipation Day

Emancipation Day event at the Temple Community Centre. Emancipation Day event at the Temple Community Centre.
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CALAGRY -

Calgarians visited the Temple Community Centre Sunday, where an event featuring Black-owned businesses, food trucks and entertainment was held to celebrate Emancipation Day.

“We are out here celebrating the fact that we are free and we are still fighting for our 100 per cent freedom from all kinds of oppression,” said Adora Nwofor, the president of Black Lives Matter YYC.

“We’re just here… enjoying the fantastic things we are able to accomplish and contribute to the world.”

The anniversary of the abolishment of slavery across the British Empire in 1834 is known as Emancipation Day.

“People are surprised that Canada had slavery because we are often associated with the Underground Railroad, people are shocked that we had full communities of black people, thriving, under oppression,” said Nwofor.

This is the first time Emancipation Day was federally recognized in Canada.

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