Kitchener held its first Pan-African flag raising ceremony
Posted Aug 27, 2021 12:30:00 PM.
August is Emancipation Month, and for the first time in history, the Pan-African Flag was raised at Kitchener City Hall.
The event took place on August 23, marking the day as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
“It was amazing and historic,” said Fitzroy Vanderpool, Ambassador of Emancipation Month for Kitchener-Waterloo.
Vanderpool had contacted Kitchener's Ward 9 councillor Debbie Chapman about the flag raising ceremony, and after consultation with Mayor and council, they had agreed to allow the event to happen.
Vanderpool said the flag was created by the honourable Marcus Garvey, who said, “every nation and every race has a flag except the black people.”
He added the flag colours are designed horizontally, starting with red as the first colour.
“The red is for the blood shed by the slaves as they were fighting for their freedom, the black represents the African people, and the green represents the abundant wealth of mother Africa,” Vanderpool said.
He adds there is still a lot to be learned.
“Unfortunately in schools, they are not teaching the slavery and the meaning of the Pan-African flag and the state that they had to fight in for their freedom.” said Vanderpool.
He is now taking it upon himself to help educate those in Kitchener and the rest of the region with events to bring awareness to the history of Emancipation Day.
