The government declared 30 March a public holiday in recognition of Spiritual Baptist/Shouter religious freedom. The official account links the faith to Black people of African descent and descendants of formerly enslaved African American soldiers, and recalls the colonial ban imposed in 1917 and repealed on 30 March 1951. Recognition in 1996 honoured a long struggle against criminalization of African-derived religious practice and for public religious equality.
Students and activists marched from the University of the West Indies campus to Port of Spain in protest against racism and in solidarity with Caribbean students facing discrimination at Sir George...
Basil Davis, an unarmed demonstrator, was shot and killed by police in Port of Spain during the Black Power mobilization. His death intensified public anger and enlarged participation in protests....
The government declared a State of Emergency and detained Black Power and labour leaders amid mass demonstrations and worker mobilization. State action restricted civil liberties and sought to contain...
On 19 June 1973, Trinidad and Tobago observed Labour Day as a public holiday for the first time. The date commemorates the 1937 oilfield uprising and the working-class struggle that helped build the...
The government’s decision to make 1 August a public holiday took effect in 1985, centring the history of African emancipation in the national calendar. The date had been marked by African-descended...
👉 Government declares Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day
Current
26 January 1996
The government declared 30 March a public holiday in recognition of Spiritual Baptist/Shouter religious freedom. The official account links the faith to Black people of African descent and descendants...
At the close of CARICOM’s 34th Heads of Government meeting in Port of Spain, leaders agreed to establish national reparations committees and a regional CARICOM Reparations Commission. The proposal...
Legal Notice No. 68, dated 18 April 2024, amended the Public Holidays and Festivals Act schedule, replacing “Emancipation Day” with “African Emancipation Day” for the 1 August holiday. The change...
The 1 August 2024 observance used the new statutory name, African Emancipation Day. In its message that day, the Office of the President connected the commemoration to the survival of African culture,...
The amended National Emblems Act came into operation on 25 February 2025, replacing the three ships associated with Christopher Columbus on the coat of arms with a steelpan. The change made a...
At the African Emancipation Day gathering in Port of Spain, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a four-point plan linking cultural guardianship, curriculum restoration, economic ties...
