Happy Birthday “Freetown”: But Don’t Corrupt History. History teaches us that on March 11, 1792, on a small patch of bushy land that was bought for the Nova Scotian Settlers; a thanksgiving service was held under the now famous Freetown Cotton Tree to christen our city known as Freetown. Happy Birthday Freetown. The name “Freetown” is self-explanatory; a landmark used to demonstrate the freedom of slaves once they set foot on this soil. Freetown is now 229 years old. However, in celebrating this landmark, it is worth noting that the significance of “Freetown” does not only lie around the shores of Freetown and Sierra Leone. The significance stretches to all of Africa, the Caribbeans, Nova Scotia, and the Americas and to all Africans, whose history will never be complete without a chapter on slavery. Slavery ranks as the biggest single violence, evil and injustice that humankind has ever committed on its own kind. Therefore, to be part of, or to come from a country that was designated as the symbol to end such barbaric practice is worth celebrating in all its glory. Once again, Happy Birthday Freetown.