For Caribbean Africans, August First can be compared to the USA's Fourth of July, and a new dawn. From that day, African women went out in search of their children who had been sold to enslavers on other plantations. The women were responsible for the re-birth of African family units in the Caribbean. They had not functioned because enslavers severely undermined the efforts of their ancestors in the previous two hundred years. The yearly commemoration of August First is very important if people of African heritage are to understand their past. The event, like the Jewish Passover, is a day of reflection and expectations for the future. Also, the event remembers those who campaigned in Britain, the Caribbean and elsewhere for emancipation.

Windrush Foundation calls on the British Government to recognise August First as a National Day of Commemoration.

To find out more visit: www.makingfreedom.co.uk