1 August should be a National Public Holiday

by Arley Salimbi Gill

In a recent interview, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell noted that 1 August, Emancipation Day, should be a national public holiday in Grenada — and this is a problem that his administration must fix.

National holidays have been a constant theme in my writing. My first published article — written years ago — had, as its title, “Thanksgiving What.” In that article, I argued, that as a nation we should not be celebrating Thanksgiving on 25 October. Doing so is akin to celebrating the invasion of our country, and mimicking the United States, where Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Let us be clear, the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States is not without controversy; the holiday is marred by America’s long and troubled settler-colonial agenda and genocidal history with Indigenous People in the United States.

As soon as “Thanksgiving What” was published, there was an almost instant rebuttal from the late Attorney-At-Law Lloyd Noel. Using his weekly column, “Law & Politics” as a whip — Lloyd Noel chided my youthfulness — and claimed that I was too young to have an opinion or know anything at all. From that moment, we continued a friendly banter over this issue for many years, sharing light moments whenever our paths crossed.

With the passing of time, I have made peace with 25 October being a national holiday. But, as one person out of a population of 110,000, if 99% of the population says “the day is a day of Thanksgiving” then, Thanksgiving it is!

That is the very essence of democracy.

Personally, I am not attending any Thanksgiving service, and, I will not be extending Thanksgiving wishes to anyone. I will stay in my corner and keep my powder dry! It is just that, I have a serious case of indigestion thinking about Grenadians celebrating Thanksgiving Day on 25 October every year. Mind you, that is the day the Yankees invaded my country.

However, Emancipation Day, 1 August — which marked the end of centuries of enslavement of Africans and Afro-Grenadians — that day is celebrated by us on the first Monday of August, rather than on 1 August.

As we know, on 1 August 1834, Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act. The Abolition Act prohibited the buying, selling, and owning of human beings in British colonies. It was the beginning of freedom for 800,000 enslaved people in Grenada and the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, as well as in Canada which was a British colony at the time.

The significance of 1 August, in my respectful view, is worthy of commemoration! And, the time has come for us to reclaim the narrative of abolition and emancipation by declaring 1 August as a national public holiday across Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.

I rewrote the original version of this article when Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell acknowledged that this historical error must be addressed. I commend PM Dickon Mitchell for moving in the right direction on this important issue. Praises should be given where praises are due. Righting this historical wrong is long overdue; and, although it is yet to be seen, I am taking the prime minister’s word as a promise to fix this problem.

I believe it is fundamentally important to recognize the relevance of events in the Caribbean that led to the Abolition Act of 1834. In particular, the slave revolts and other forms of resistance used by enslaved people. We must acknowledge that the commemoration of the abolition and emancipation of slavery, on the first Monday in August, dilutes the heroic and valiant struggles of enslaved African people, who sacrificed their lives to make freedom a reality. Moreover, descendants of enslaved people must never be expected to work on Emancipation Day — 1 August —never!

1 August should be one of the most important dates on our national public calendar here in Grenada. A day to celebrate and commemorate our African ancestors who, by diverse forms of resistance, including revolting and fighting, freed themselves from chattel slavery.

I do not know why the first Monday of August is a public holiday and is now associated with Emancipation Day. The reasoning and rationale behind that decision beat me all the time. In my respectful view, the selection of the first Monday was a flippant decision.

The decision-makers of the past failed miserably to weigh the merits and value of Emancipation. And, today, decision-makers do not seem to care enough about this issue to change it.

Despite having a few of my friends agree with me on this matter, many have shared their concerns; national festivals such as Rainbow City Festival and Carriacou Regatta are held on the first Monday of August. The answer is simple: keep the first Monday of August as a holiday. The first Tuesday was a public holiday until it was taken away years ago to accommodate international cricket. Just as we took it away, we could take it right back. More importantly, these festivals, along with Spicemas, provide enormous economic opportunities — especially for the “unofficial” economy and make Grenada the place to be in August.

I must say that my argument for keeping the first Monday in August as a national holiday — and for advocating for 1 August to become a public holiday — is not simply for the sake of having more holidays. I am of the firm conviction that we ought not to disregard our most important dates in history. I mean, could one consider what would happen if, suddenly, we had to celebrate Christmas Day on the third Sunday of December, instead of on the 25^th of December — Christian believers would be up in arms about this matter.

Likewise, we must commemorate Emancipation Day with intention and purpose. It is an important day for the descendants of African people and for all Grenadians. It is a commemoration of our ancestors’ struggle and eventual freedom that they fought long and hard to achieve — 400 years of fighting and resistance.

To me, 1 August is the most important date on our calendar and one of the most notable events in our nation’s history. There is a way for us to accommodate our 2 national cultural events that have grown in scope and scale over the years. All it takes is political will, fortitude, and historical clarity.

No Grenadian had to argue for our government to declare the 25^th as Thanksgiving Day and a national holiday. Still, Thanksgiving Day happens every year without fail or any challenge. So, why not 1 August?

Thank you, Prime Minister Mitchell. Your words are good reasons to give thanks on 25 October this year. Let us make 2025 the year 1 August becomes a national public holiday.

Our ancestors are watching.