Emancipation & national reflection, commitment to unity

Today marks 187 years since the abolition of slavery in the British colonies, a historic milestone that resonates deeply with all Guyanese, and especially with Guyanese of African descent. On August 1, 1838, after centuries of inhumane bondage and a four-year “apprenticeship” phase designed to delay true freedom, enslaved Africans in British territories were legally declared free. For the first time, they could rightfully proclaim, “Free at last; free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”—words that would later echo in the American civil rights movement through the voice of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
While slavery had long existed in many ancient civilisations, including those referenced in the Bible and throughout Africa, the transatlantic slave trade that developed after Columbus’s 1492 arrival in the Americas introduced a particularly brutal system – chattel slavery. Under this system, enslaved Africans were not seen as people, but as the personal property of their masters – akin to livestock or household objects – subject to every whim and cruelty of their owners.
The Spanish and Portuguese were among the first European powers to enslave Africans in the mid-15th century. This ushered in a radical shift in the global understanding of humanity. Physical differences, once simply observed, were now tied to constructed ideas of social hierarchy and human worth. The modern concept of “race” was born – not merely as a categorisation, but as a rationale to dehumanise, dominate, and exploit. Theologians and philosophers, in an effort to reconcile slavery with Christian doctrine, propagated theories suggesting that Africans were not fully human or even lacked souls. One such claim came from Spanish monk Bartolomé de Las Casas, who infamously argued that Indigenous Peoples were more deserving of protection than Africans.
These ideas metastasised into notions of racial “purity”, rigid caste systems, and doctrines that discouraged any form of racial mixing. In the United States, for example, the infamous “one-drop rule” dictated that any person with even a single drop of African ancestry was classified as Black – and by implication, inferior. This ideology laid the foundation for the deeply-entrenched systemic racism still experienced today.
Such thinking did not remain confined to Europe or its colonies. The legacy of this racial hierarchy—popularised as the “Great Chain of Being” – spread globally, ranking God at the top (notably imagined as a white, bearded man), followed by angels, whites, then other races descending in supposed value, with Africans placed just above animals. This worldview insidiously took root in the consciousness of colonised peoples, many of whom began to accept and internalise these rankings. Even today, some individuals and communities maintain this distorted sense of identity, taking solace in being above others on a ladder constructed entirely by colonial powers.
This legacy continues to echo in global affairs. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has openly claimed that Hungary was not a “mixed-race country”, contrasting it with Western Europe’s diversity. The statement was condemned by many European leaders, yet it starkly reveals how enduring and dangerous these racial ideologies remain. A similar bias was glaringly apparent during the evacuation of African students from Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion, where they faced discrimination and delays while trying to flee to safety.
Guyana is no stranger to the consequences of these colonial constructs. The divisions fostered during slavery and reinforced through the importation of indentured labourers – Portuguese, West Indian Africans, liberated Africans, Indians, and Chinese – were deliberately designed to disrupt unity and maintain a labour force subservient to the plantation class. After emancipation, when Africans rejected plantation work and sought independence through land ownership and community building, planters turned to indentureship as a new mechanism of control.
While Emancipation Day is rooted in the struggle of African ancestors for freedom, its significance must extend beyond a single community. It is a moment for the entire nation to reflect on the shared history of oppression and resistance, and to commit to forging a society free from the lingering shadows of racism and division.
True emancipation must include freedom from prejudice, inequality, and inherited notions of superiority. It demands a rejection of imported racial ideologies that continue to pit Guyanese against each other based on ancestry or appearance. As the country continues on its development path, building a truly inclusive and equitable “One Guyana” must remain the national aspiration.
Emancipation Day should not be simply a commemoration of the end of slavery but rather a call to remember, to heal, and to unite. It is a reminder that freedom, once won, must be defended and deepened through justice, equality, and solidarity among all citizens.