Are You Living 'Emancipation'—or Just Talking About It?
- Dr. Khnuma Simmonds
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Let’s take a journey together—through history, through truth, and through transformation: A New Chapter in Global Liberation.
Let’s talk about freedom.
Not just the kind etched into history books or celebrated with parades and fireworks—but the kind that lives in our minds, bodies, decisions, and communities. This week, we’re reflecting on Emancipation Day—a moment of deep remembrance and reclamation.
On July 3rd, 1848, enslaved Africans in the Virgin Islands took their freedom into their own hands. They gathered in Frederiksted, St. Croix—led by General Buddhoe—and demanded liberty, forcing the abolishment of slavery in the Danish West Indies.
But let’s be clear: Emancipation—defined as the act of being freed from restraint, control, or the power of another—didn’t start or stop there.
In Haiti, enslaved Africans, led by Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and others, fought the only successful slave revolt in history, birthing the world’s first Black republic in 1804.
In the United States, emancipation came in waves: from the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to Juneteenth (June 19, 1865), when the last enslaved people in Texas were told they were free—two years after the Proclamation.
These weren’t just dates. These were movements powered by community, trust, and collective liberation. And what was required?
✨ Community and Trust
✨ Unified Purpose
✨ Liberation—embodied, enforced, and embraced
These moments in history teach us this:
Emancipation is not a moment—it’s a movement.
Emancipation isn’t just political—it’s personal.
Emancipation is not just the tearing down of chains—but the lifting up of purpose.
It’s not only about what our ancestors were freed from—but about what we now choose to walk toward: healing, truth, embodiment, abundance, and trust.
So here’s a freedom question for you to reflect on today:
