Emancipation Day Address by Mayor Sheran Palacio

CONTRIBUTED BY MAYOR SHERAN PALACIO: Belize and the World! As we celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1, 2022; we must remember and honor our beloved ancestors. They gave their lives to give us a chance. We are their dreams come true.

We cannot allow a minute to go by without first remembering the cruelty of the forcible removal of human beings from the African continent. Imagine the grief that was left behind and the pain that followed up to the present by those who made it across the Atlantic. Many perished at sea and the plantations in the Americas and Europe There are institutions and families today that became wealthy from their blood, sweat and tears for over 400 years. Emancipation Day is not just about our liberation from an institutionalized system that sought to destroy our common humanity but also a time to reflect and repair many wrongs.

Emancipation must continue into liberation of our minds, remembering that we are one people. Opportunities abound for us to reconnect with our families in Africa and around the globe. This is a time to do business and achieve success.

Together, we celebrate our amazing culture and talents with the world. Records show that over the last 200 years there have been over 15,000 patented Black inventors. You are inventors, too. This tradition of excellence continues through you. Young Belizeans you are light; you are love; you are beautiful, you are creative; you are strong; you are bold.

As we continue to heal; we must not allow the vestiges of slavery and colonialism stop us from reaching out to each other. We are duty bound to be our highest selves, we are duty bound to continuously prepare a better tomorrow for the next generations; we are duty bound to take care of our fragile Mother Earth, respecting all peoples and all that dwell in it.

Emancipation Day is a call to unity for all peoples, we are one! Emancipation Day is a call for peace and reconstruction. Emancipation Day is time to reflect and give thanks. Emancipation Day is a time to remember, it is a time to forgive, lest we forget; it is a call to futuristic thinking.

We must answer that Call!

Long live our heroic ancestors!

God bless Belize!

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