Builders of Barbados make their mark

By Sheria Brathwaite

Unlike other significant monuments on the island that highlight people of fame or prominence, the Builders of Barbados Wall in the Golden Square Freedom Park shines the spotlight on thousands of ordinary people who, despite their stories not being widely known, played a critical role in the development of Barbados.

It tells the story of nation builders over the past 600 years – regular people who sweated, laboured and toiled to ensure Barbadians today could enjoy the privileges they do.

The park in which it is located in the heart of The City – a two-acre heritage space that helped shape the socio-political landscape of Barbados and gave rise to one of the island’s national heroes, The Right Excellent Clement Osbourne Payne – was officially opened on November 29, 2021, on the eve of Barbados’ 55th Anniversary of Independence and the move to republican status.

Since then, the Builders of Barbados Wall has become a popular attraction and is a selfie hotspot for hundreds who frequent the area weekly to pose, capture, post and share.

During the opening ceremony of Freedom Square, art consultant and co-coordinator of the wall project Denyse Menard-Greenidge told the audience in a pre-recorded video that she and fellow artist Lilian Nicholson collaborated with historians and many other artists to make the wall materialise “a fantastic number of persons”.

She said it took a lot of research to complete. Two family names are engraved on each brick in the wall and some bricks were left blank for people who lived here but whose names were not found.

On Independence Day last year, global megastar and icon Robyn Rihanna Fenty was conferred the title of National Hero and as part of the celebrations, she and her brother Rorrey Fenty as well as her close Barbadian friends visited the wall, searched for their surnames and took photos which made the rounds on social media and the Internet.

Countless Barbadians have also made it their priority to visit the monument and those who have not seen it as yet, still marvel in awe at its conceptual design and 600-year story.

Recently, during a tour of Historic Bridgetown, several students of St Alban’s Primary School visited the heritage site and were thrilled to see the names of their forefathers on the wall.

Teacher Curtis McConney also revelled in the fact that his name had appeared twice.

“I think it is really great that we show and appreciate those who came before us, those who built Barbados, our ancestors. Without them, Barbados wouldn’t be what it is today and this is really important.

“It is also important for the young ones. One of the things that a child appreciates is when you remember their name, and when you see your name as part of something this important it builds up that pride that we sing about in the National Anthem,” he said.

Senior teacher Harriet Headley added that the wall was a “fantastic idea”.

“It gives the children a sense of belonging when they come and see their family name on the wall,” she said.

Although she is yet to see the wall in person, Reanne Phillips said the concept was “brilliant”.

“The wall brings history to life in an engaging way for young people. Before, if you wanted to find out if your family made a contribution to the development of Barbados, you would have had to journey to a library, museum or the archives and scroll through some old dusty books. But this presents history in a different format. It is much more interactive and interesting,” she noted.

Marsha Gittens visited the wall with her relatives and it was an interesting experience.

“Based on how it was promoted during the unveiling ceremony, my curiosity took over and I wanted to see it myself. I was happy to see my family name there. It was nice to know they played a role during the early years to build and shape this nation. Like them, I hope through my daily life I, too, will be able to make a significant contribution to this nation, leaving it better for future generations,” she said.

Andre Springer visited the wall shortly after Freedom Square was opened because he wanted to see if his popular surname was there. He added that it also sparked his interest in finding out more about his family history.

For Joshua Clarke, the experience was emotional.

“It is a bit overwhelming to think about as it was my ancestors who came across and thus created history and now their name is etched in the wall for everyone to see and know what they did for this island,” he said. “I also think about the names that were lost and how unfortunate it is that we would never know them.”

Irecka Louis and Jamie Layne said they wanted to experience what all the hype was about and thought the concept was a good idea.

Meanwhile, Kirk Moore had a different take on the monument.

“I am of African ancestry and I know that majority of those names there are slave names and Massa names of the big plantations. I think Government should have structured it in a way to bring more light to the enslaved who had to forfeit their names. For the youngsters coming up, it would be good for them to not only see their colonial heritage but their African ancestry as well,” he said.