As we recognize May 20 as Florida Emancipation Day, the day in 1865 when the black people of the state were officially granted their full rights as American citizens including freedom from bondage, we discuss the full meaning of emancipation. Looking at an African philosophy call Umbutu, we looked at the interdependence between the individual and the group. Umbutu is often translated as “I am because we are.” Under the Umbutu philosophy, the individual is strengthened by the group, and the group has strengthened the individual. Like a child reaching the age of adulthood, emancipation is when an individual becomes a fully entitled, fully self-determining member of a group. Emancipation gives us rights and responsibilities.