Commemorating Emancipation Day

Scores gathered at the Bussa Statue this morning to commemorate the 2020 edition of Emancipation Day.

Pan Africanists and members of the public who started assembling from as early as 6 a.m. adorned in their African attire, offered libations to their ancestors, including Bussa. Members of the Israel Lovell Foundation kept the atmosphere alive with the beat of the drums.

During the celebrations, members of the public were treated to a number of speeches and presentations, including a moving spoken piece from Wayne “Butter Skillet” Harewood who effectively painted a picture of the abolition of slavery in Barbados in 1834, because of unrelenting slave rebellions that took place across the Caribbean.

Attending the ceremony was Minister in the Prime Minister Office with responsibility for Culture and the National Development Commission, John King; Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade Sandra Husbands; Member of Parliament Trevor Prescod; Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong; Cultural Ambassador Anthony “The Mighty Gabby” Carter, in addition to several other Ambassadors and diplomats residing in Barbados.

One of the highlights of the proceedings came from the Emancipation Riders, under the leadership of Ian “Cupid
Gill, who made three laps around the J. T. C Ramsay roundabout where Bussa Statue resides. They rode from Bayley’s Plantation, St Philip.

To end the ceremony, there was the traditional laying of flowers at the Bussa Statue.

A Baobab tree, which is a gift from Africa to Barbados, was also planted on the opposite side of the road. (AH)