08/01/2026
On August 1, 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across most of the British Empire, including the territories that became Canada. This law formally ended the legal ownership of enslaved people, but it did not erase the centuries-long system of the transatlantic slave trade that had shaped societies across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Families were torn apart, communities were destroyed, and individuals were subjected to violence, forced labour, and dehumanization, resulting in both immediate and generational effects - disrupted cultural continuity, severed kinship networks, and long-lasting economic and social inequalities that continue to be felt today.
As students at Queen’s we live and study on colonial grounds, and must recognize the role our own institution has played in creating and perpetuating structural and systemic racism. Emancipation does not mean we have reached complete equity and equality, but QIAA is committed to working towards these values and promoting them as future global leaders.
