What is Emancipation Jubilee?
Click to download flyer Emancipation Day is the day that enslaved persons were officially free from slavery and apprenticeship. Although the Law of Abolition was passed in 1834, fully fledged freedom was not materialized until 1838 and thus Emancipation Day was a reason for rejoicing and it became a yearly remembrance and thanksgiving festival. Emancipation Jubilee is a major celebration organized by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust at Seville Heritage Park, St. Ann to honour our African ancestors and their contributions towards the free society that we now enjoy. The annual event began on July 31, 1997 when the remains of four ex-slaves were re-interred on the Seville property after they were excavated from the Slave Village on the property and extensively studied by Archaeologists at Syracuse University. The following year, one of the remains was repatriated to Ghana and buried there. Since 1997, the JNHT has commemorated the event with a cultural package that showcases the Africa
