A Celebration of African Identity

In Trinidad and Tobago the commemoration of the end of African enslavement includes a parade in the streets of the nation's capital, Port of Spain.

Trinbagonians do parades and festivals really well with almost effortless ease and minimal policing.

For those that live on these islands and for the Trinbagonian Diaspora, festivals are an occasion to feel, in an intense way, a sense of belonging and connection to a shared purpose.

Because this year Freedom and Decolonization was the theme of the celebration, it was transcendental.

A big part of what made this so special is that Caribbean festival culture includes a feature of occupying physical space..."de road made to walk" not only on Carnival Day...during festivals, we take possession of public spaces that were in the historic past out of reach.

Owning and taking up physical space as a group is a spiritual practice.

Memories

As I turned the corner into upper Duke Street, my body remembered Lavagem do Bonfim in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

This is a festival dedicated to washing away the transgressions of the old year and welcoming in the new. It's an African ritual performed annually on South American soil, enacted as preservation and declaration of human dignity. The champions of Lavagem are large-bodied African heritage women who bestow blessings on the faithful.

In 2006, I had the life-changing experience of being in the Lavagem with Brazilian friends.

I have been craving this experience of starting anew and leaving things behind. The last months have required many calculations and recalibrations and the mental effort has taken an emotional toll.

Spain No More

Today I received blessings of Port of Spain.

The streets of East Port of Spain are not pretty. There are no cobbled stones to preserve history and the modern structures are the worse for wear. This is the so-called ghetto in a small island state where marginalized and criminalized communities skew disproportionately African. Recognized and acknowledged as the creative catalysts and knowledge bearers. Too often disrespected and undervalued. African men are overrepresented among the vagrants and unhoused sleeping rough in the nation's capital.

But today African men and women were on the podium as elected national and municipal officials resplendent in robes, sharing history and doing what responsible elders and elites in a community do. Sharing knowledge about the past and establishing codes of behavior and values.

The African garbs and the well-organized and focused rituals took our gaze momentarily from the imperfections of the built environment.

Head, Heart, and Hands

My friends who are experts in somatic practices have long schooled me about the importance of having a connection to the body (thank you, Bibi, Greta and Cathy Mae).

When we do change as Global Majority activists and intellectuals, we are so much more effective when we are connected to our own bodies and to beloved ancestors.

It is then that we can do head, heart and hands work for the cause of liberation.

Andre Tanker, Singing Sandra, David Michael Rudder, the political lyricist.

Hot sun.

Booming sound system.

Bodies connected in a ritual of dedication and assertion of identity.

Colors and pageantry without the hypersexualization and drunkenness that now mark Carnival.

A parade claiming space, reaffirming values and rededicating ourselves to holding human dignity and Africanness sacred.

Reflection

Emancipation Day Parade 2026 owes me nothing. I am grateful to the organizers who have been relentless in their execution of these important activities. It is also important that these commemorations take place on a national public holiday, when citizens of Trinidad and Tobago can focus on the history of African communities and honor their continuing presence and contribution.

August 1, 2026
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

Gillian Marcelle, PhD, is Founder and CEO of Resilience Capital Ventures LLC (RCV), a boutique capital advisory practice specializing in blended finance. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine; the George Washington University; and the University of Sussex, SPRU. In 2024, she became an honoree of Forbes 50 over 50 in Investments.