Cambridge's Emancipation Day celebration expands to Soper Park, bringing more Black heritage to the region
Rhythm and Blues Cambridge, an organization that brings Black heritage, culture and knowledge to the region, is hosting an Emancipation Day celebration on Sunday.
This is the second year for the event and it's been expanded to Soper Park.
The group launched in 2018 in an effort to fill the void of events during Black History Month in February.
Marjorie Knight, Rhythm and Blues Cambridge founder, says this year's Emancipation Day event will include a number of performers, including musicians, a DJ and a spoken word artist. There will be food and market vendors, too.
Emancipation Day in Canada is on Aug. 1, and marks the end of slavery for Black and Indigenous people from the British Empire. The British Slavery Abolition Act was established in 1834.
"Personally, [Emancipation Day is] a reminder of what my ancestors did because everything we do now is standing up on their shoulders,"Knight said.
"They came out of emancipation. They had no land, they had no money, mostly no education, and yet they built community. They taught children, they sent them to school, they did great discoveries, they were inventors."
A celebration of Black history
Knight said Black history in Cambridge is lot deeper than some might think.
"It's a strange thing but if you asked people about the history of Cambridge, people probably wouldn't be able to tell you much," she said.
The group will have what they're calling a "wisdom bench" as part of the celebration, in an effort to educate patrons.
"We will have some of our elders there ready to have conversations and talk about what the legacy we celebrate is," Knight said.
"We'll be able to look at where Black presence was first found in Canada, which would be Nova Scotia, which would be places like Africville."
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
