ABSTRACT
The central historical referents of Emancipation Day have been the slave trade and slavery as well as their overcoming in the liberating act of emancipation. Yet the slavery past was not the only connection between Black people on the continent and in the diaspora. Within the Pan-African rhetoric that dominated the homecoming discourse, the kinship ties that were evoked in the celebration of Emancipation Day were said to reach back to the times when no Europeans had disturbed the cultural integrity of Africa. This aspect of constructing a common African heritage, represented to affirm Black pride and self-esteem, is the central focus of this chapter. The spirit of decolonization, so prominent during the early years of African independence, emanates from those lines. During the Dakar festival, the focus was very much on the continent and the prospects for its future.
