Dear Editor,
The African Cultural & Development Association (ACDA), now in its 32nd year, will be hosting its 32nd Emancipation Day Festival in the National Park on Freedom Day, Friday, 1st August 2025. Emancipation 2025 is not just another annual observance; it is a historic milestone. This year marks 400 years since the first Africans were brought to Guyana, a foundational moment in our history that has been buried in Dutch colonial archives for centuries. However, this critical moment in Guyanese history has received little to no public, civic, or governmental recognition beyond the efforts of ACDA and the Guyana Reparations Committee, both of whom will honour this milestone during August, which is celebrated across the Caribbean as Emancipation Month.
On August 1, Guyana will mark the 187th anniversary of Emancipation Day, the end of more than 200 years of enslavement. This is the single most widely celebrated holiday across the Caribbean, a national holiday in most CARICOM countries, symbolising freedom and resilience for millions. Yet in Guyana, the national discourse has become preoccupied with elections, partisan politics, and daily survival, leading many to become detached from the significance of this anniversary.
Why should Guyanese care?
Because the legacies of enslavement are not distant history – they are the structural roots of the inequalities and social divisions we live with today. While elections come and go, the wounds of slavery remain – visible in our land tenure, education system, economic marginalisation and continued struggle for dignity and justice. If we ignore this 400-year reckoning, we risk repeating a cycle of erasure and neglect that diminishes us all, regardless of race or political allegiance.
The rest of the Caribbean is not asleep. Antigua is suing Harvard University for restitution; Barbados is demanding the return of the Drax Plantation; Suriname has €200 million for awareness projects and €27 million for a museum from the Dutch Government following their apology for slavery, and the Caribbean Netherlands has also received millions in reparative funds. The world is moving toward accountability. Guyana must not be left behind. Our Government, civil society and every citizen must demand action and join the call for reparatory justice, because this is about our shared future as much as our shared past.
ACDA’s Emancipation 2025 festival at the National Park is more than a cultural event; it is an act of national memory and unity. It is a call to all Guyanese, Afro-descendants, Indo-Guyanese, Indigenous, Portuguese, Chinese, Mixed, every resident and visitor, to participate in the healing and transformation of our society.
This year, ACDA’s programme includes the Main Street Bazaar (July 15-31); Spiritual Events such as Ancestor Veneration Night (July 29, Demico House), Night of Elements (July 30, Parade Ground), Candle Light Parade (July 31), and the Sunrise Service (August 1, 6am, National Park).
Emancipation Day will feature something for everyone: African cuisine, folk games, children’s fun centre, parade, face painting, cook-up competitions, sports, dominoes, fashion displays, exhibition booths, drumming, dancing, singing, crafts, spoken word, DJs, and educational exhibits. Special international guests include Grammy Award nominee Maxi Priest, international artists from Nigeria, the USA, Suriname, and regional drumming groups. Our local icons: First Born, Calvin Burnette, Charmaine Blackman, and many more, will take the stage.
Educational booths will showcase “400 Years of Africans in Guyana”, the African Village Movement, contributions to hairstyles, music, names, inventions, and more. This year, Burkina Faso will be honoured, as most Guyanese of African descent cannot trace their roots to a specific African country, ACDA seeks to reconnect all generations to Africa’s rich diversity.
We also pay tribute to Buxton, the village founded in 1840 by 128 formerly enslaved Africans, purchased by their own hands, and a beacon of self-governance, agricultural achievement, and social activism. Buxton, together with Friendship, represents the resilience, ingenuity, and hope of Afro-Guyanese communities. We especially honour Bro. Eusi Kwayana, centenarian and national hero.
Let us not allow politics, division, or apathy to overshadow Emancipation 2025. This is not a holiday for some; it is a Guyanese and Caribbean holiday, a Guyanese moment, and a human moment. The world is watching how we honour our ancestors and claim our rightful place in history. Will we seize this moment, or will we again leave our story to be written by others? ACDA invites all Guyanese, diplomats, and foreign guests to join us at the National Park. Children under 12 enter free, thanks to the Gladstone Family. This is more than a festival, it is our collective call for memory, unity, and justice. Emancipation 2025 is your story. Make it matter.
Yours sincerely,
Eric Phillips
ACDA
Guyana Reparations
Committee
