Monday, August 1, 2011 – Emancipation Day – Barbadian and other English speaking Caribbean people will be celebrating the 177th anniversary of the abolition of slavery on August 1, 1834.
Unfortunately, there will not be much of a celebration in Barbados, since our Government has decreed that Kadooment will be held on this year’s Emancipation Day! It seems to have escaped our Government that Emancipation Day is historically fixed to August 1 and cannot be shifted, while the Kadooment street parade can be placed on any convenient day.
But the sad reality is that the authorities have so little respect for the Black or African heritage of Barbados, that they are capable of treating something as sacred as the abolition of slavery in the most shabby, callous and off-handed manner.
And, of course, when the predominantly black Barbadian leaders exhibit such disregard and disrespect it sends a very negative message to the non-black segment of the population and promotes a general laxness of approach towards the history, heritage and identity of black Barbadians.
Examples of this abound, but the most recent consists of two white Barbadians – Mr Peter Laurie and Mr Charles Knightson – who used the pages of THE NATION newspaper to lecture black Barbadians on how they should approach the task of appreciating and preserving their African heritage.
Mr Laurie, self-righteously instructs black Barbadians that they don’t need “frivolous, fruitless, freeloading trips to Africa”, and that they should refrain from celebrating Black History Month, or investigating the history and achievements of ancient Egypt!
Mr Knightson – a self-described descendant of the Welsh and Irish people – rushed into print to back up Mr Laurie and to instruct black Barbadians that they have no claim to the glorious, high achieving civilization of ancient Egypt.
Well, the Peoples Empowerment Party (PEP) would like to advise all black Barbadians to reject their sentiments and recommendations.
Where Laurie advises you not to travel to Africa, the PEP advises you to go – go as often as you can and experience for yourself your venerable and tremendously valuable ancient mother continent!
In fact, every single black person should make it a sacred duty to visit mother Africa at some time in their life, just as the devout Muslim seeks to visit Mecca!
And not only should black Barbadians celebrate Black History Month, but they should pay special attention to the glories and achievements of Kemet or ancient Egypt.
Contrary to the false, unscientific, wishful thinking of Mr Knightson, ancient Egypt or Kemet was an indigenous Black or African civilization.
Indeed, there is nothing controversial about this – Professor Cheikh Anta Diop of Senegal, assisted by the Congolese Egyptologist and linguist, Theophile Obenga, established this beyond question at the UNESCO international conference on The Peopling Of Ancient Egypt which was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1974.
