Emancipation Day ceremony on Citadel Hill pays tribute to Jamaican Maroons

The official designation of Emancipation Day three years ago has led to a “wave of awareness” about the realities of slavery in Canada, according to the director of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia.

Russell Grosse told CBC Radio Information Morning Nova Scotia that while it is important to celebrate how people of African descent overcame suffering and adversity to build strong communities, it is also a good time to reflect on the lasting damage that slavery caused.

“It’s a time of sober reflection on the ills of slavery and what it did to a people,” Grosse said. “And the fact that some of that trauma that was created by the trade in… slavery still exists in our communities.”

Emancipation Day and the legacy of the Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia were commemorated Thursday during a ceremony on Citadel Hill in Halifax.

August 1 was declared Emancipation Day in 2021 by the House of Commons and the provincial legislatures. In 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect.

Lt. Governor Arthur LeBlanc said during Thursday’s ceremony that the legacy and trauma of slavery continues to be felt by African Nova Scotians in the form of systemic inequality, racial discrimination and marginalization.

“It is the collective responsibility of all Nova Scotians, both now and in the future, to recognize these inequities and contribute to communities based on equity, access and opportunity for all residents,” he said.

The contributions of the Jamaican Maroons to the province were marked with the unveiling of a plaque highlighting their national historical significance.

The Jamaican Maroons were former African slaves who escaped and formed communities to resist the British colonial authorities in Jamaica.

In 1795, the Trelawny Town Maroons began a rebellion that the British called the Second Maroon War. After signing a truce in 1796, the authorities in Jamaica decided to deport them to Nova Scotia.

The province was experiencing a labour shortage at the time, as a large number of black loyalists had left for Africa a few years earlier.

Marsha Coore Lobban, the Jamaican high commissioner to Canada, spoke at the unveiling on Thursday about the remarkable cultural and architectural legacy left by the Maroons during their short stay in Nova Scotia.

She noted that they helped rebuild the Citadel Hill fortress and other important government buildings.

Most Maroons left for Sierra Leone in West Africa in 1800.

“Although the Maroon settlement experience in Nova Scotia was brief, lasting only four years … their legacy remains one of a proud, defiant and resilient group,” she said.

“By recognizing the contributions of our ancestors, including the Jamaican Maroons and other groups, we not only honor their memory, but we also educate and create awareness among current and future generations about the importance of diversity, resilience, community and the broader process of nation building.”

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