Since 1998, August 23 has been the “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. We explain to you what this date corresponds to.
This Sunday, August 23, 2020, is, as every year since 1998, the “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. It is Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) who instituted this commemorative date. The date was not chosen at random.
Why August 23?
As Unesco explains, on the night of August 22 to 23, 1791, an insurrection began in Santo Domingo. Black and freed slaves claim freedom and equal rights with white citizens. This insurrection played a decisive role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It is led by Boukman, a voodoo priest. The man perished in combat, but his successors, including Toussaint Louverture, continued the fight which led to the independence of Haiti on January 1, 1804.
Other commemorative dates
While the European Parliament voted on June 19 the recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity, after France which adopted the Taubira law in May 2001, the dates for the commemoration of the slave trade and its abolition are very different, depending on the overseas territories and countries, as Célia Cléry explains in this video:
Educational file
Find by clicking here our complete dossier on slavery and its abolition.
It is the Intl Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade & its Abolition.
But today there are more than 40 million victims of modern slavery, perpetuating the deep injustices that are tearing our societies apart.
Protect them #DroitHumains of each one : https://t.co/qf5ECPRZeh pic.twitter.com/kp21lLOlEP
– UNESCO en français (@UNESCO_fr) August 23, 2020
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