When slavery ended in Bermuda, black folks had a plan for the following year.

Now that they were paid employees, it was time to take their power back from white supremacy,

and they did it in the most genius way.

This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school.

White supremacy snatched so much from our people for generations.

Rest and joy were felt few and far between by enslaved people,

so when they were finally free, the people of this island country decided to take their power back.

They refused to work.

On August 1st, 1835, black people didn't show up to their jobs in honor of the centuries of enslavement they had endured.

Instead, they celebrated.

This refusal became a custom that lasted for over a century before it became an official holiday.

Although they never needed white permission, people called in sick and some even lost their jobs,

but eventually employers and the government had no choice but to accept it.

Today, Cup Match is an official two-day holiday, full of camping, boating, swimming, an annual cricket match, and of course, Black Joy.

Resistance is a powerful testament to our people's collective power to create new realities when we come together.

Like Black Bermudiants, we must realize our power and refuse to back down.

In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past.

This has been Two Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black.

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