Establish Emancipation Day on August 1st as a national bank holiday.

Rejected 15 signatures

What the petition asks

Emancipation Day is observed in many former British colonies to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people of African descent. To acknowledge Britain's role in colonisation and end of the transatlantic slave trade, we petition the government to make August 1st a national bank holiday.

In our time, the public glorification of slave owners in Britain has come and past. We must now educate ourselves on the history of slavery and the mistreatment of BAME people in the UK. Public recognition of this history will seek to build bonds with the communities that have been victims of slavery and celebrate the healing process still ongoing. This holiday will act as a conduit for conversations on how we can shape a brighter future and separate ourselves from the mistakes of the past.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Make August 1st of each year a bank holiday - the 'Abolition of Slavery Day'

We have also published several petitions about race and equality more widely, which you can view here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=open&topic=race-and-equality

Timeline

19 Jun 2020	Petition opened for signatures
7 Jul 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 15

Status Rejected

Rejected 7 Jul 2020

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