Dozens of people were at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie to celebrate Emancipation Day.
It’s been almost 200 years since slavery was abolished in Canada and today was a day to learn and celebrate.
The organizer Erika Smith says there’s been a lot of progress over the years, but she says racism still exists, and there’s still more work to do.
“We definitely need more diversity within all avenues of our society, seeing more people from the Black community, the Indigenous community getting into positions of power, getting into the government, getting into City Council,” Smith said.
This is the first time an in-person event is being held here at Lakeside Park since the House of Commons officially designated August 1st as Emancipation Day back in 2021, but they couldn’t hold an event last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The activities in St. Catharines will continue throughout the day and from 7 to 9 pm LMT.