On august 1st, people gathered in montreal's little burghundy neighbourhood to celebrate emancipation day and mark 169 years of black African freedom from bondage in the British colonies. the montreal event was hosted by the Universal Negro Improvement Association of Montreal, one of Montreal's oldest Black community, as well as the Alfie Roberts Institute and Umoja Concordia. with music, readings, talks and poetry, it marked emancipation day while paying tribute to the late Alfie Roberts, a visionary Montreal Black community activist