#BTColumn – The fall of Nelson statue: A diaspora view

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Charles Crichlow

Let me first of all declare up front that I was in the camp that said the statue of Horatio Nelson would best be ‘pelt way’ into the Wharf just across the way in the manner of the Colson Statue of Bristol that was so unceremoniously discarded into the River Avon earlier this year, in the wake of the George Floyd murder.

Thanks to modern technology I was able to be ‘ring side’ on my laptop for the Lord Nelson ceremony in the comfort of my home in rainy Manchester, Northern England. What unfolded before me was perhaps the most powerful and teachable event one could be privileged to watch. Any lingering doubt as to the value for money of the event was evaporated in the poetry of Cyndi Celeste who took to some of the prevailing ignorance like a wrecking ball.

Meanwhile, Historian Trevor Marshall walked us through 200 years of history with the clarity and simplification of an episode of Sesame Street. This was not only Barbados at its best, this was black excellence before the entire world. There are times in the life of a nation when politics is best set aside but I’m a realist, this is Barbados we talking ‘bout.

But whatever some people may say, the speech delivered by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley would have reverberated around the Barbados diaspora communities and deep into the wider Black world. Mottley characteristically covered enormous ground (without notes) but in warning us that “a country that does not take care of its spirit is doomed”, she brilliantly encapsulated the whole purpose of the event.

The people of Barbados and its Government are to be highly commended for leading the world hopefully on the path of redemption and mental emancipation. It has been said that if you want something said, get a man, but if you want something done, get a woman.

Successive leaders have promised to take Barbados to a Republic. This symbolic event would have erased any doubt about the confidence of this government to deliver, whether you agree or not. Barbadians would be wise to wake up to the global significance of the path of decolonisation this administration is setting the country upon. In reading some of the commentary, particularly about tourism, trade and the economy, generally one would be forgiven for forgetting that a world exists outside the bowels of former European colonisers and North America.

I believe that this path of decolonisation leads us as a nation towards a greater connectedness with Black diasporas and the African continent. If Bajans are smart at joining up the dots, we may well envision a new way towards liberation and economic prosperity. Viva Barbados and Viva the Coming Republic!

Charles Crichlow is a Barbadian residing in the United Kingdom. A leading member of the UK Barbados Overseas Association. Former pupil of St George Secondary and graduate of University of Manchester School of Law. Charles served for 30 years in Manchester Police. He is a former president of the National Black Police Association and was instrumental in building relations with the police service in Ghana, West Africa. Charles is an active participant in Barbados UK Diaspora programs and events.