In an opinion column republished for Emancipation Day 2026, Drexwell Seymour, a CPA and author of two books, argues that the freedom won with the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834 is incomplete without a liberated mind. Many people, he writes, remain "imprisoned by fear, bitterness, low self-worth, negative thinking, and spiritual bondage."
Seymour, who hosts the weekly radio show Financially Speaking, grounds his argument in scripture, citing Jesus's promise in John 8:36 and Romans 6's call to move from slavery to sin into service of righteousness. He urges readers to break four mental chains: fear, feelings of inferiority rooted in slavery's legacy of false worthlessness, the habit of blaming governments or society instead of asking "What can I do today to improve my situation?", and unquestioning acceptance of tradition. He illustrates the last point with a grown elephant restrained by a thin rope because it still believes it cannot escape, and warns that social media comparison and addiction to approval are modern forms of mental slavery.
The column closes by asking readers to use Emancipation Day for self-examination and to celebrate not only the freedom won by ancestors but the spiritual freedom Seymour says Christ offers, in which "the possibilities become limitless."