Freedom was celebrated during the Emancipation Day festivities at Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Dresden on Saturday.
Brenda Lambkin, a long-time employee at Uncle Tom’s Cabin, said the annual event was a success.
“I think it has been a beautiful celebration of our freedom,” Lambkin told the Sydenham Current.
“We have had a good crowd. They have been coming and going and a lot of them have been mingling. Our talent is wonderful.”
Lambkin said Toronto’s TC3 Youth Choir, who promotes, develops and encourages youth through inspirational song, dance and Afro-Caribbean drumming, was a big hit at the event.
She said the importance of Emancipation Day is at the forefront of the celebration each year.
“Today is a day that we celebrate our freedom,” she said.
“This is a site that would be wonderful to see because we are rich in history in this area. Our forefathers have done so much that we can have a land that is free and we need to celebrate it. We also need to tell our children their heritage and their history and hopefully we won’t repeat the things that were not good.”
Lambkin added: “So it’s a really, really, really beautiful learning tool to come down and see everything we have. We try to really treat you well. Not only that, we try to give you a wonderful history lesson while you are here.”
Emancipation Day in Dresden this year also featured an exhibit from the International African Inventors Museum.
Francis Jeffers, curator at the museum, said technology needs to be utilized to teach youth about black history.
“Everything we do, everything we touch is constantly changing,” Jeffers said.
“You get a smart phone and by next week it is no longer the most popular or trendy and all of the sudden you have to go buy another one. As Canadians we need to get everybody involved in the world of technology so that we can create opportunities for our children and grandchildren. We need to be able to give our kids and grandchildren a sense of history to also prepare them for what the future is because the future is really dynamic.”
Jeffers said the Canadian Multicultural Inventors Museum is a non-profit organization based in Toronto that celebrates diversity and innovation.
“The whole idea is to show that everybody has contributed to the world of innovation,” Jeffers said.
“Everyone has contributed to the world as we know it and we are celebrating that diversity because that is part of the corner stone of the new Canada. A Canada that is diverse, that is very representative of the world and is sharing that knowledge so that we break down stereotypes and barriers.”
Jeffers added: “It is always nice to celebrate the food and the music of people but also we need to also we need to look at their contributions in terms of the everyday things that we use in our life.”
Here are some photos from Saturday’s event by Tami Schram:
– Photo credit: Tami Schram
