African Pride

Students from several St Michael showcased African pride at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus on Wednesday as they modelled African garments and participated in a talent showcase.

The organiser of the event Teresacita Cox, a secretary in the Department of Government, Sociology and Social Work, said the activity was significant as it helped students develop a sense of pride and identity, enforced the importance of history, and gave them an avenue to express themselves.

Students from Deacons Primary, Eagle Hall Primary, St Stephen’s Nursery, Ellerslie Secondary, Combermere, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, and the Barbados Community College took part in the exercise along with pupils from West Terrace Primary in St James.

The students modelled the garments they wore last month for their schools’ activities to commemorate African Awareness Month. Students from the tertiary schools were able to have their designs modelled as well.

The UWI graduation tent, where the event was held, also came alive when the students danced, sang and performed spoken word.

Cox added that the activity helped the university develop a relationship with the nation’s youth from an early age, adding that it would encourage the students to attend the campus and take part in the range of social activities the UWI had to offer.

This was the eighth staging of the event.

During the welcome, Dr Alana Griffith said it was “an activity of immense importance to us”.

“What began as an opportunity for us to be a part of the global celebration recognising the lives and contributions of peoples of African descent, has evolved into a wonderful opportunity for collaboration. It affords us an occasion to draw closer to others from various educational institutions and communities while showcasing the talents of those to be witnessed here,” she said, adding that Barbados and other Caribbean states had the right to celebrate African Awareness Month even though it may be seen as unnecessary by others.

“Now, I am fully aware of the debate surrounding whether largely African-majority societies like Barbados and other countries in the Caribbean should be devoting time and effort to African awareness. There’s also a view that by adopting a largely American premise, we are reinforcing our dependency rather than bringing our own independent questions about our identity to the table. However, we choose to see ourselves as part of a growing global movement that values the contribution of Africa to civilisation. And in so doing, consider how we might reclaim and enlarge it as we move forward in this challenging 21st century.

“Here at UWI, my colleagues deliver courses and conduct research on Pan-Africanism, African history, African philosophy, African political thought, African international relations, and much more that directly addresses the place of Africa in global development. Therefore, we stand here not as mimics of Western power, but as free agents participating in a global movement of African awareness to which we are fully committed and dedicated,” Dr Griffith said.
(SZB)