The fight for emancipation in Barbados, where slavery ended 190 years ago, is far from over, a government official declared on Friday, emphasising the critical need for reparations to address the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism.
Rodney Grant, programme adviser in the Division of Culture in the Prime Minister’s Office, made the comment at the Rock Hall Freedom Village, St Thomas, where he outlined an ambitious four-month programme of events to commemorate the annual Season of Emancipation, highlighting the ongoing struggle for economic freedom and cultural identity.
Grant made clear that unless reparations are made, “emancipation is not yet over”.
He said: “Freedom is a process that will never finish, so therefore it is incumbent upon us to continue to fight for emancipation, for freedom. This is why we are the point of reparations because we recognise that there was significant damage that was done by the process of slavery and then colonialism. That is why reparations is important because it is the ongoing fight for full emancipation.”
Grant, who is also the programme adviser in the Office of Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement, said: “We have to determine what emancipation would look like. It is us having control over our destiny, over the kind of economic freedom we want to build out of society and the society we want to build as a country. It is not a Pan-African thing or a Rastafarian thing. It is an all Barbados thing…It was all of our ancestors that suffered for us to be here today and therefore we have to be invested and we have to re-invest in the freedoms our ancestors fought for us.”
He highlighted the significant history of that site as one of the reasons why Barbadians should not take for granted the freedom and free will that our ancestors fought for through sweat, blood and tears.
Grant said: “We have the free will to date who we want to date, which wife we want to choose, what clothes we want to wear, what food we want to eat and sometimes we have so much free will that we are miserable about making choices. Our ancestors never had free will. They could not choose when they want to eat, when they want to get up, when they want to work and when they want to sleep. They died, suffered, burnt to death because they fought for us today to have free will to do the things that we see are necessary and the things we enjoy. We cannot take freedom for granted. Too much blood was spilled, too much suffering was had for us to squander this freedom.”
At the official media launch of the Season of Emancipation 2025, he outlined the long slate of activities planned for the four month long event.
On April 14, the Bussa rebellion anniversary will be commemorated with a re-enactment called Freedom at the Groves Plantation, St Philip, one of the sites of the Easter 1816 slave rebellion.
The role of Nanny Grigg, a literate enslaved woman who played a pivotal role in the 1816 rebellion, will also be showcased as the spotlight falls on the women in revolts.
Grant said: “Oftentimes, we forget the role that women would have played in several revolts we had across the country and beyond that in nation building. We have a special series that we are going to be introducing this year. We are still working through the specific dates that they are going to fall within but it is a seven-part series that we are going to be rolling out with one of the radio stations in Barbados focusing specially on women and the role they played in resistance in Barbados.”
The radio series will be called Reclaiming Her Power.
On April 28, National Heroes Day, each parish will celebrate one of the island’s National Heroes. This activity will be done by the National Independence Committee working in collaboration with Community Independence Celebrations.
The May Day celebrations will be hosted by the Barbados Workers’ Union and the National Cultural Foundation.
Africa Day celebrations are slated for May 23 where the National Library Service will host a dialogue between Barbadian and African students at the University of the West Indies and another event on May 25 at Golden Square in The City.
Also on May 25, as part of the memorialisation project, there will be the unveiling of a community monument in St John to honour those residents who have made a significant impact on that parish, including late historian Trevor Marshall.
June is Heritage Month and to honour General Cuffy, the enslaved African man who led a slave rebellion in Guyana in 1763, one of the most significant anti-slavery rebellions in South American history, there is to be a special laying of a bust in the ocean at Speighstown on June 12, while the National Day of Significance will be held on July 26 at Golden Square, The City.
On August 1, Emancipation Day, activities will be planned by the island’s various pan-African groups.
In light of Marcus Garvey Day on August 17, Grant outlined that his division was seeking to expand the incentive list for the winners of the Marcus Garvey Cultural Creative Competition
“The first prize is normally $30 000 focusing on the cultural and creative sector. This year we are working on bringing more private sector partners on board in terms of the amount of offerings we can give to the first, second and third winners,” Grant outlined, adding that the general public will also be involved in their selection.
The annual lecture of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition will be held on August 23, while Barbados’ father of Spouge, Jackie Opel, will be celebrated on August 27. (JB)
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