In 1833, the British Parliament passed an act banning slavery (Slavery Abolition Act of 1833).  It took full effect at midnight of July 31^st, 1834. As of August 1^st 1834, all slaves in the British Empire were emancipated, but still indentured to their former owners in an apprenticeship system which was finally abolished in 1838. The apprenticeship system was a system implied to force the ex-slaves to return to the plantations.

Emancipation Day is widely observed around the world during the first week of August. Though the Masons and churches, sympathetic to the abolition movement were the first in Windsor to organize Emancipation Celebrations, individuals such as Walter Perry (later known as Mr. Emancipation) and his successor Ted Powell became synonymous with the celebration.

Following the riots in Detroit in 1967 the Emanicipation Celebration was cancelled due to security concerns. In 1969 the festivities resumed. Controversy erupted over the City of Windsor's decision to move the festival to Mic Mac Park in 1977.

Along with colorful parades, concerts, talent shows, pageants, family reunion picnics and community barbecues. The celebration drew the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Eleanor Roosevelt and many other world renowned dignitaries annually to appear as guest speakers or simply to join the revelry.