Director for the Centre for Hybrid Studies Dr Deryck Murray said Tuesday that the “price of freedom is ongoing vigilance” as he underscored the significance of observing Emancipation Day.
He made the comments before a modest crowd that included Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector, Colin Jordan and former principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus Professor The Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau at this morning’s Speightstown Freedom Walk.
The participants led by the Rose Hill Tuk Band, made their way from the Speightstown roundabout at the southern end of the KNR Husbands Highway through communities and ended at Fishermen’s Pub where they were treated to freedom speeches, poems, and other performances.
Dr Murray told members of the media it is important that such events are held to allow persons who are conscious minded, pro-freedom, and understand the struggle to be able to observe the Season of Emancipation.
“And we think it’s important to do this because we have the illusion that progress is irreversible and that once we have made gains that they are there forever. But if you look around, you will see how easy it is to reverse gains.
“If you look at the United States you will see that they are now fighting something that they thought was progress in terms of abortion rights and now it has been reversed completely and they have to fight that struggle all over again.
“And so we are aware that the price of freedom is ongoing vigilance, ongoing acknowledgment of the work that has gone before, ongoing demonstrations to the people who might think of reversing your gains, reminding them that we are still here, we are still pressing forward, we are still pressing for our freedoms,” the Pan Africanist said.
Dr Murray added that while the state recognises the Season of Emancipation from April 14 to August 31, there is still much work to be done to raise awareness at the individual level.
He acknowledged that while a walk to recognise Emancipation Day may not attract large numbers, there are many people at home who may be Afrocentric and are themselves activists and want to know that such an event is happening and persons are free to participate.
“They want to know that symbolically something is happening even if they themselves don’t participate. So if you see 100 people come out for the walk, you can guarantee that there are probably 10 000 people who are interested and who support it.
“So it is not always the easiest thing to gauge emphasis on an activity based on the immediate response or the visible response that you see.
“Demonstrations of this would have been seen during COVID, for example, when there was a fear of the vaccine in Barbados becoming mandatory, that particular encroachment on freedom saw activists from all walks of life and from all perspectives rise up to confront that particular issue,” he said.
However, Dr Murray added that Pan Africanists and other activists may have work to do in continuing to spread awareness among the population about the significance of emancipation. ( [email protected])
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