City Hall to shine in yellow Friday night to honor abolition of slavery

City Hall in Lower Manhattan and other public buildings throughout the city will glow in a majestic yellow Friday night in honor of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced the tribute on the the awareness day, which is celebrated in many countries including the United States every Aug. 23 to recognize the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade and what led to its abolition.

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition commemorates the start of a 1791 uprising among enslaved people of Haiti that would culminate in both the Haitian Revolution and the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

“Today, we reflect on the inhumanity of slavery, remember those in Haiti who fought in the name of the justice to abolish it, and recommit ourselves to the shared principles of liberty, dignity and equality for all,” the mayor said. “Now, more than ever, to build a better future, we must reconcile with our troubled past. Let us all work together to remember our collective history and use it as a lesson to turn a painful moment into a purposeful one.”

Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the organization that designated the awareness day, shared a comment online that pays tribute to slave trade victims.

“It is time to abolish human exploitation once and for all, and to recognize the equal and unconditional dignity of each and every individual,” she said. “Today, let us remember the victims and freedom fighters of the past so that they may inspire future generations to build just societies.