The National Reparations Committee (NRC) says it is pleased to join forces with the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF), Ministry of Creative Industries, Reverend Patrick Anthony Folk Research Center (FRC), Holy Trinity Anglican Church, National Youth Council (NYC), National Students Council (NSC), Iyanola Council for the Advancement of Rastafari (ICAR), Caribbean Rastafari Organization (CRO), Ubuntu Rastafari Cultural Center (plus others) in the planning and execution of Emancipation Month 2022.
The first of the triennial celebrations announced by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre on August 1 to be held in 2022, 2023 and 2024 began on July 31 in Dennery with the unveiling of a monument to Petronille, a woman freedom fighter who paid with her life to resist slavery at the Fond d’Or Estate.
Activities on Emancipation Day 2022 started with an unprecedented drum parade along the Vigie highway that culminated in the waters of Castries with a one-hour rally addressed by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the MP for Central Castries, with culture and other presentations by groups and entities .
Emancipation Day activities included a national address by the prime minister, as well as a freedom concert in Soufriere, an artist exhibition in Vieux Fort, a history seminar in Laborie, a lecture in Gros Islet and several online discussions and events on NTN and others. local broadcasting entities.
Activities continued in the middle of the month with a Marcus Garvey Market Day held at Constitution Park in Castries on 17 August, the 101st anniversary of his visit to St Lucia in 1921. On 24 August, the NRC and CDF also jointly organized a webcast on NTN in honor of August 23 as the UN-designated Day of Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition.
On August 30, the curtains began to come down on Emancipation Month, with the traditional La Rose Festival being celebrated in Castries at Constitution Park, attended from 9am to 9pm by St Lucian enthusiasts from across the island.
The final act for August was on the last day of the month, August 31, when another international hybrid broadcast was organized by NTN, sponsored by NRC and CDF, to observe the International Day for People of African Descent.
The August 31 broadcast featured CARICOM’s Representative to the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent Dr. June Soomer and Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao, President of the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI).
The NRC and other stakeholders are all pleased with the level of positive response to the Emancipation Month activities, which are expected to continue until September 15, including the marking of September 7 as the 2nd anniversary of the CARICOM-African Union first (AU). Last year’s summit.
The September 7 anniversary was not celebrated locally, but Saint Lucia and other CARICOM member states have agreed to observe the date with activities between the anniversaries.
Between 3 and 5 September, CARICOM was represented at a special UN-sponsored commemoration in Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Day for People of African Descent organized in Cartagena, Colombia, by Dr Soomer in her capacity as the CARICOM Representative to the Forum of the UN Permanent.
Dr Soomer, a former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), is also a former Ambassador of Saint Lucia to CARICOM and the OECS and a founding member of the NRC.
Meanwhile, the CDF and the Committee of Stakeholders have begun preparations for its review before the formal end of the month, while it has already identified strengths and weaknesses to consider when planning for Emancipation Months 2023 and 2024.
