St. Catharines commemorates Emancipation Day
More to do but strides being made giving voice to ‘racialized’ residents
As the Pan-African flag was raised in front of St. Catharines City Hall Thursday afternoon, the message was clear. Observing Emancipation Day is merely one step on a long journey toward racial equality.
“Remembering Emancipation Day does not mean we remember slavery as something in the past,” said Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association member Vicki-Lynn Smith.
“(Slavery) lasted for so long and its legacy is still around today.”
The flag-raising ceremony commemorated the declaration of freedom for slaves of African descent in most British colonies Aug. 1, 1834.
Smith, a fifth-generation descendant of freedom seekers who settled in St. Catharines, said even though Emancipation Day is recognized in former colonies, many people have forgotten the lasting impacts of slavery.
“Things have gone even backwards in some ways in the last few years.”
She stressed the importance of working together as a community to call out inequality and fight to end it.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik mirrored Smith’s sentiments, telling the small crowd the ceremony served not only to acknowledge the past but also where society is today and where it needs to head in the future.
“I’m a white male who doesn’t see the inequalities,” Sendzik admitted, crediting late advocate Renee Martin for calling out his blind spots to ever present racism and discrimination.
“I’ll be honest, I had some uncomfortable conversations with Renee about where St. Catharines is today … what she was able to articulate to me in very passionate ways is that we have a long way to go.”
Sendzik said he is committed to doubling down his resolve to make St. Catharines an inclusive community and asked the public to not only hold its leaders to account, but to join them at the table.
“It can’t just be about a flag that flies, it can’t just be about the history, it’s got to be about what we are succeeding at today and what we are setting for the kids that are here tomorrow.”
The Pan-African flag will continue to fly at City Hall every year to mark Emancipation Day, he said.
Saleh Waziruddin, a co-founding member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, said the flag raising was one of many initiatives Renee Martin fought for before she died.
She also had a leading role in the renaming of the Facer Street Festival (formerly the European Festival) and the creation of the city’s new anti-racism, LGBTQ+ and equity committees.
He said she would have been happy to see these initiatives come to fruition. “Although she wouldn’t be satisfied,” he added. “She would want to know where it’s going.”
For Jamal David, a 27-year-old St. Catharines resident whose parents were born in Trinidad, the flag-raising represented a significant step forward, one he was happy to witness.
“I never thought I’d see this day, to be honest.”
David feels positive about what strides have been made toward giving racialized residents equal voice, but admitted there’s much more that can be done.