The Chairman, Commissioners and Staff of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) join with all Guyanese to celebrate the 185th Commemoration on the declaration of the abolition of slavery and the undue sacrifice of apprenticeship that lasted to 1838.
The ERC sees this commemoration as a historical landmark that has changed the landscape of our nation forever, initiating the genesis of modern Guyana with the subsequent era of indentureship.

Emancipation then heralded the coming of indentureship, enriching the landscape and compelling the need for answers from a new depth of clarification and fortitude towards an inevitable collective destiny beyond contentions, fears and fragmenting dogmas. Emancipation is the stage that challenges all Guyana to evolve continuously.
The years of slavery were the eternal twilight that slipped into the darkest night of struggle, sacrifice and consuming hopelessness, to awake from that long blood-stained night to the promise of a new dawn with Emancipation.

The struggles and efforts of our African ancestors redound to the benefit of all Guyanese. As a diverse nation of five peoples, we must collectively build on these triumphs, persevere and resolutely aspire to greater heights and a deepening of the spirit of social cohesion.
We must continue to unite, mobilize and together lift our nation to higher heights socially, economically and culturally. We must elevate our mindset, eschew mediocrity and believe in a culture of excellence.

Through the eyes of the ERC, Emancipation is our human movement. A process of cultural and mental awakening that must envelope us all, as we contemplate ground covered, acknowledge causes and errors made, and finally, truly emancipate ourselves collectively and commit a most significant positive posterity to the present and future Guyana.
The ERC takes this opportunity to extend best wishes to all Guyanese on the occasion of Emancipation.