PRESS RELEASE STATIA JULY DAY 2026

poster with press release statia july day 2026From Freedom Granted to Freedom Won’ is the theme of St. Eustatius’ Annual Emancipation Day Commemoration

 

St. Eustatius / June 24, 2026

 

The Awakening of Historical Narrative

St. Eustatius is taking a different approach this year for the annual Emancipation Day Commemoration, often referred to as July Day by the island residents. The activities planned for this national holiday will focus on community engagement and educational initiatives. The goal is to reshape the understanding that freedom was granted by the colonizer on July 1, 1863, instead of acknowledging that freedom was won through resistance, rebellion, and the continued strife to freedom by a strong and resilient island population.

 

Prof. Kimani Nehusi and Dr. Artwell Cain invited guest speakers

The July Day program will begin with a spiritual drive journey in honor of our Ancestors, starting at the Smoke Alley parking lot, followed by the morning program at the green & white cove building in Fort Oranjestraat across from Madam Theater. The afternoon and evening program is at the Johan Cruyff Court, where the food sale market will take place as well.

 

The Caribbean-born keynote speakers Prof. Kimani Nehusi (born in Guyana, residing in Philadelphia) and Dr. Artwell Cane (born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, residing in Aruba) will speak about topics such as ties between the Caribbean and Afrika and the importance of memorialization. Prof. Nehusi is Afrikologist and Dr. Cain is cultural anthropologist and the author of the recently published book “St. Eustatius: Restoring Our Ties. The Voices of Statians Making A Difference.” The festive launch of this book will be on June 30 at 7pm in the GJB Public Library.

 

Other speakers in the program include Papa Umpo (Garfield Young) from St. Maarten with storytelling and Mr. Derrick Simmons, island council member, anthropologist, and Alliance member, on music as a vital form of our Ancestors’ resistance.

 

Evening cultural manifestation

The evening cultural manifestation directed by Mr. Taro Merkman of the Statia Roots Festival starts at 6 pm and includes Statia’s own String Band, Rebel Band HD, Encore Band, a spoken-word performance, and a dance group.

 

Connection to the reburial of the 69 Ancestral remains

This year’s July Day is closely linked to the planned reburial on November 13, 2026, of the remains of the 69 Afrikan Ancestors that were excavated from the Golden Rock burial ground by an international team of archaeologists in 2021. The Afrikan burial grounds Godet, Congo, and Golden Rock will be the destination of the morning drive. The scheduled reburial ceremony for November 13 will be discussed with the audience by Ms. Xiomara Balentina, chairlady of the Statia Cultural Heritage and Implementation Committee (SCHIC).

 

Community-led learning

The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance is organizing the July Day events with other local NGOs for the first time this year. According to Kenneth Cuvalay, moderator of the day program and president of the Alliance, there will be community events with Prof. Nehusi and Dr. Cain both prior to and following July Day. And two educators of the Broos Institute, a pioneering Afrocentric academic institution, will also be visiting the island. Cuvalay: “We want to understand what and how the community wants to learn about their history. We’re excited to transform this year’s July Day conversations into long-lasting educational resources about our still-incomplete and distorted history”. As a result, Cuvalay urges the community to speak up during the July Day conversations or contact the organization by phone, email or social media (https://steustatiusafrikanburialground.org).

 

Acknowledgments

Statia July Day 2026 is organized by the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance in cooperation with the St. Eustatius Government, Statia Roots Festival, Statia Cultural Heritage and Implementation Committee (SCHIC), Statia Tourism Foundation, St. Eustatius Historical Foundation, St. Eustatius Monuments Foundation, and funded by the Statia Government and the Slavery Memorial Committee.  Changes to the program will be announced on the Alliance’s website, https://steustatiusafrikanburialground.org, as well as through its collaborative partners’ social media channels.

 

Full Program: https://steustatiusafrikanburialground.org/statia-july-day/

 

###

 

Information for the Editor

 

Full Program: https://steustatiusafrikanburialground.org/statia-july-day/

CONTACT: Kenneth Cuvalay, President of the “St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance”

About the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance (SE-ABG Alliance)

The SE-ABG Alliance came about as a result of the protests against the excavations on the 18th-century burial ground of enslaved Afrikans, Golden Rock, that were started by a team of international archaeologists in June 2021 in St. Eustatius. With allies around the world, the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance broadened the scope of the struggle focusing on other Afrikan burial grounds in St. Eustatius such as the Afrikan Burial Ground Godet Plantation St. Eustatius (Godet/Fort Amsterdam).

 

One of the aims is to further broaden the scope of our struggle to the Pan-Afrikanist level, connecting with and working with Afrikan-centered organizations and movements that are also fighting for the preservation of our Ancestors’ endangered Afrikan burial grounds around the world and taking control of our narrative that has been distorted.

In October 2024, our application for the UNESCO label ‘Routes of Enslaved Peoples’ for the Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan Burial Ground was honored.

 

Why we spell Afrika with a ‘k’

For the Alliance is Afrika spelled with a “k” instead of a “c” based on the following insights:

  • It is a Pan-Afrikan spelling which relates both to the Afrikan continent and to the Diaspora.’]
  • It reflects the spelling of “Afrika” in all Afrikan languages.
  • It includes the concept of “ka,” the vital energy which both sustains and creates.