Re-enactment of the Diamond Estate 26 Run for Freedom on July 1, 2015. (John van Kerkhof file photo)
COLE BAY–The Department of Culture will celebrate Emancipation Day with a re-enactment of the Diamond Estate 26 Run for Freedom on Sunday, June 30, from 11:00pm. This year’s event is entitled “64,000 We Have A Name” in tribute to the 64,000 enslaved men, women, and children who were liberated from slavery in the Dutch Kingdom on July 1, 1863.
The “Run for Freedom” will take place at 12:01am on the grounds of the former Diamond Estate located on Union Road across from the roundabout at the end of the Simpson Bay Causeway.
Diamond Estate was a plantation on the border between Cole Bay and Bellevue, Marigot, where 26 slaves ran to their freedom on May 29, 1848, two days after the abolition of slavery was announced in French St. Martin.
As part of the commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Dutch St. Maarten on July 1, 1863, Governor Eugene Holiday, Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sport Wycliffe Smith and Chairperson of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams will address the public with personal reflections on freedom and will perform a symbolic wreath-laying.
The event will consist of four segments, including the re-enactment of the slave run and resulting resistance, invocations, freedom songs, spirit guides, living statues and performances inspired by the archives.
There will be detailing of events dating back as far as 1835 and a reading of the original 1863 Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery. The 64,000 honour roll call of freed and enslaved persons will conclude the ceremony at 1:30am Monday, July 1.
Rehearsals involved numerous members of the community who volunteered as vocalists for the Emancipation Day Choir, as well as dancers for the Ponum dance and drummers and actors who will bring to life words and dramatizations from the historical texts.
There is a sense of urgency to present this re-enactment, as future re-enactments may not be possible due to the ongoing large-scale commercial development of Diamond Estate.
The general public is invited to attend the re-enactment which will be presented in a theatrical format at one location. Members of the audience are invited to bring chairs and watch the spectacle unfold.
Participants who wish to take part in the midnight run are encouraged to bring battery-operated lanterns. White is the dress code for audience and participants alike.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/88707-diamond-estate-26-run-part-of-emancipation-day-observance
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