The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs will be distributing special Emancipation Day DVDs to all Government schools in September in an effort to educate students on the history of slavery in Bermuda.

Senior Community and Cultural Affairs Officer Heather Whalen said yesterday that the DVD chronicles the period from 1600 to 1834, when slaves were freed in Bermuda.

The DVD features a recording of the dramatic production “Releasing the Shackles” which was performed at Clearwater on July 26.

The show was based on unpublished material written by the late Dr. Kennedy Robinson.

Every year the Department organises a dramatic production to celebrate the emancipation of slaves in Bermuda and to educate the public on the overall slave experience on the Island.

Ms Whalen said it is only appropriate that this experience be shared with the youth.

“This is something we have been doing for some time and before we used to hold a special service on the Tuesday before Cup Match,” she said.

“In more recent years, we've done these dramatic productions about various aspects of slavery, or the experiences that the Africans had when they came over here.”

She said the productions are always held outdoors - weather permitting - and are well attended.

“This year was no exception,” she said.

Ms Whalen said previous dramatic productions covered the conspiracy plot and education the Island's African descendants had before they came to Bermuda.

“These productions are used to educate people about their ancestors and the cruelty of slavery,” she said.

The distribution of the DVD is hoped to compliment the schools' current curriculum treatments of Bermuda's history and to build public awareness.