Download or read book Rites of August First written by Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2007-08 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Rites of August First, J.R. Kerr-Ritchie provides the first detailed analysis of the origins, nature, and consequences of August First Daythe most important annual celebration of the emancipation of colonial slavery throughout the British Empire. Spanning the Western hemisphere, Kerr-Ritchie successfully unravels the cultural politics of emancipation celebrations, analyzing the social practices informed by public ritual, symbol, and spectacle designed to elicit feelings of common identity among blacks in the Atlantic world.