August 1st, 1834 marks the day that the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect across the British Empire. The anniversary of this event, known as Emancipation Day, has been honoured in Southwestern Ontario since the beginning.
This collection of Emancipation Celebration programs documents the efforts of the British-American Association of Coloured Brothers*, and especially Walter L. Perry who was known as "Mr. Emancipation", to organize large scale, multi-day, international festivities in Jackson Park, Windsor. These Celebrations took place every year from 1935 to 1966. They were cancelled in 1967 due to the race riots in Detroit. As well, the main organizer, Walter Perry, died August 17th, 1967. The Celebrations were then cancelled again in 1968 due to fear of possible riots. Under the stewardship of Edmund (Ted) Powell, the Emancipation Celebrations continued from 1969 to 1983. From 1976-1982 (with the exception of 1981 when they moved back to Jackson Park), the Celebrations were held in Mic Mac Park, although the parade continued to take place on Ouellette Avenue. Finally, in 1983 both the Emancipation Celebrations and the parade were moved to Amherstburg.
The programs (also called Progress, from 1948 onwards) give insight into what was billed as "The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth". The Celebrations included a large parade, famous speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt, concerts, sporting events, a Black beauty pageant, a carnival, as well as ample food and drink. Some years, the attendance reached close to 300,000 people. Despite, the resounding and unprecedented success of the Emancipation Celebrations, there were continual financial and administrative problems. Walter Perry outlines these in the programs. The organizers received little support from bodies such as Windsor City Council, the Windsor Chamber of Commerce, and the Essex County Tourist Association. Although, all races and nationalities were welcome at the Celebrations, racism clearly played a role behind the scenes.
The collection of Emancipation Celebration Programs is not complete. The following years are online: 1937-1941, 1944-1950, 1952-1955, 1957-1959, 1961-1963, 1965-1967. The University of Windsor Archives & Special Collections also has print copies of 1973-1974, 1976-1983. These programs are part of the E. Andrea Moore Collection. More online materials from this collection can be found at SWODA Images
*later called the Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1937
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 31, 1937.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1938
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 30, 1938.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1939
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Tuesday, August 1, 1939.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1940
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Thursday, August 1, 1940.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1941
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Friday, August 1, 1941
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1944
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Sunday, July 30, 1944 and Monday, July 31st, 1944.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1945
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Sunday, July 29, 1945 and Monday, July 30, 1945.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1946
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Sunday, July 28, 1946 and Monday, July 29, 1946.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1947
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Sunday, July 27, 1947 and Monday, July 28, 1947.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1948
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 31, 1948, Sunday, August 1, 1948, and Monday, August 2, 1948.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1949
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 30, 1949, Sunday, July 31, 1949, and Monday August 1, 1949.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1950
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 29, 1950, Sunday, July 30, 1950, and Monday, July 31, 1950.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1952
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 26, 1952, Sunday, July 27, 1952, and Monday, July 28, 1952.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1953
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, August 1, 1953, Sunday, August 2, 1953, Monday, August 3, 1953, and Tuesday, August 4, 1953.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1954
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 31, 1954, Sunday, August 1, 1954, Monday, August 2, 1954, and Tuesday, August 3, 1954.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1955
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 30, 1955, Sunday, July 31, 1955, Monday, August 1, 1955 and Tuesday, August 2, 1955.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1957
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, August 3, 1957, Sunday, August 4, 1957, Monday, August 5, 1957, and Tuesday, August 6, 1957.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1958
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, August 2, 1958, Sunday, August 3, 1958, Monday, August 4, 1958, and Tuesday, August 5, 1958.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1959
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, August 1, 1959, Sunday, August 2, 1959, Monday, August 3, 1959, and Tuesday, August 4, 1959.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1961
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Saturday, July 29, 1961, Sunday, July 30, 1961, Monday, July 31, 1961, and Tuesday, August 1, 1961.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1962
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Friday, August 3, 1962, Saturday, August 4, 1962, Sunday, August 5, 1962, and Monday, August 6, 1962.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1963
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Friday, July 26, 1963, Saturday, July 27, 1963, and Sunday, July 28, 1963.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1965
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Friday, July 30, 1965, Saturday, July 31, 1965, Sunday, August 1, 1965, and Monday, August 2, 1965.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1966
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were held on Friday, July 29, 1966, Saturday, July 30, 1966, Sunday, July 31, 1966, and Monday, August 1, 1966.
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Emancipation Celebration Program 1967
Walter Perry, British-American Association of Coloured Brothers, and Canadian-American Association of Black Brothers of Ontario
The Emancipation Celebrations were to be held on Wednesday, August 2, 1967 - Monday, August 7, 1967. They were cancelled due to the race riots in Detroit. Walter Perry died shortly after on August 17, 1967.