Alright I am curious tooooooo

(Also, quick note, I am a not an expert in this field and much of this was a Wikipedia/internet dive. If anything is incorrect, please let me know - if there's any good sources, that'd help too! Same with if there are any indigenous threads for me to re-share!)

And... That's it, really. I just wanted to share some of the history I found. A lot of this isn't broached by the media nor included in our textbooks. I'll leave you with a video that I think shows you a good taste of what Caribana is like!

Knowledge is power. Happy Emancipation Day!

They were referred to as 'Panis.' I am not indigenous and I do not feel qualified to speak on their behalf. I prefer to cede ground for indigenous voices and scholars who know far better than me. I'm linking the Wikipedia article below, but if you wish to learn more, please seek out their voices.

In fact, I'm going to take a moment to highlight a sad and upsetting truth that I only found out today. For a long while, indigenous slaves made up 2/3 of slaves in Canada before black slavery became the norm. This sadly appears to have been lost in the discussion.

Now, am I trying to say that anyone's better than anyone else or credit Graves alone? Heck no. Slavery ended but many lives were lost, and impacts are still felt today. Anti-black racism still exists here, and let's absolutely not forget Canada's treatment of indigenous and Métis folks.

Even Toronto's 68-year old Mayor has joined in and rocks it!

The grand parade is just that - an entire parade along the waterfront where people march and dance with ornate costumes. Many of these costumes, they make themselves. I've never been to Mardi Gras, but I'm told it's kind of similar to that?

But that's not the biggest event! That would be the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly/affectionately known as Caribana). Every year millions of people descend upon the city from the Canada, US, and the world to party their hearts out in a pan-Caribbean display of culture and heritage.

Back to Toronto, though. Every year on the night of July 31st, hundreds of people gather in the subway to ride the 'Underground Freedom Train' to mark this day - a nod to Harriet Tubman's legacy - when slaves fled to freedom in the Northern US and Canada. Here's footage from last night.

Trinidad and Tobago celebrates it too! With processions, church services, and more!

In Barbados, there is an entire season of Emancipation, beginning in April and ending in August.

As a result, in many countries, the first of August, or the first Monday of August is celebrated as 'Emancipation Day.' This day/long weekend is celebrated in a myriad of ways, including festivals, marches, prayer, and commemoration of rebellions and resistance.

The story doesn't end there, though. As mentioned before, slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire on August 1st, 1833 - including Canada and the Caribbean/West Indies countries where my family is from. Again, it wasn't perfect - full emancipation didn't happen until 1838.

Though Governor for only 4 years, Simcoe's legacy remains, including the founding of my hometown, Toronto (formerly York) in 1793, which is now the 4th most populous city in North America. Fun fact - 'York' became the capital of Ontario because they were concerned about... international relations.

Nonetheless, this made 'Upper Canada' the 'first jurisdiction in the British Empire to pass a law freeing slaves' - 40 years before the British Parliament's "Slavery Abolition Act" banned slavery in the British Empire, and 70 years before the United States' "Emancipation Proclamation."

In 1793, John Graves Simcoe, the 1st Lt. Governor of what would become the Canadian province of Ontario, wanted slavery gone, and got the "Act Against Slavery" passed. He was only able to pass a compromise bill that stopped the importation of new slaves and freed children of slaves at age 25.

Smol PCs are fun! The newest build I did last December, I went mATX! There's some really awesome cases that straddle the ITX and mATX line that you should totally check out. You might not have to give up nearly as much as you think!