Emancipation marked the end of an era when human beings could be legally trafficked and enslaved, a period when persons could be whipped and worked till death for the benefit of others, sold, exchanged, and inherited like ‘ chattel’, animals or family silver and other heirlooms.
Those persons, women and men, many of whose names cannot be recalled, who struggled to break that world order and to bring a new world into being where people by law are free and equal, are remembered and celebrated during the period of emancipation each year and symbolized most by the Neg Mawon sculpture in Port -au-Prince, Haiti.
This year the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT) marks its thirtieth anniversary with the theme – 30 years of Transformation and Resilience. We could not arrive at this moment without the work of early emancipators such as M’zumbo Lazar and Edgar Marisse Smith who organised the Emancipation 50th Anniversary celebrations and called for the day to be recognised as a public holiday in 1888. The response of the powers that be, was to declare August 1st Discovery Day in 1901, which paved the way for the false narrative of Christopher Columbus to shape the national psyche. This diminished the marking of emancipation but did not eliminate the commemoration of emancipation as small groups of African people continued to informally celebrate Emancipation Day, with community events evident up until the 1960’s. It took NJAC and Daaga, from the 1960’s to the 70’s through the organisation of cultural rallies marking emancipation, to take up the call once again for Emancipation Day to become a national holiday. This call was amplified by cultural activists such as John Cupid who organised street procession in San Fernando , Lancelot Layne who organised flambeau processions through Belmont and Laventille and Lidj Yasu Omowale who organised the full three-day celebrations.
In 1984 the Honourable Prime Minister George Chambers declared August 1st, Emancipation Day, and a Holiday, rightly replacing Discovery Day. Between 1984 and 1992 the Traditional African National Organisation (TANA) organised emancipation celebrations at Mucurapo Secondary school and in 1992 the ESCTT was formally established with Khafra Kambon and Lidj Yasu Omowale being its first Co- Chairs. In 1995 PM ANR Robinson was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago to visit the Emancipation Village and later Prime Ministers have continued the tradition. The celebrations were moved to the Queens Park Savannah in 1996 having outgrown the Mucurapo Hall, heralding a glorious period which saw visits from African Heads of States: Prime Minister Jerry Rawlins of Ghana, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Good Luck Johnathon of Nigeria and Presidents Kufuor of Ghana and Museveni of Uganda.
But it was not only visiting Heads of State, but Scholars and outstanding political activists also graced the shores of Trinidad and Tobago for the commemoration of Emancipation. They came from North America, Dr Kathleen Cleaver, Dr Leonard Jefferies, Prof James Small, Dr Lisa Aubrey, Mel Foote ; from East Africa, Professor Ali Mazrui, Her Excellency Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella First President of the African Parliament of the African Union; from West Africa Prof Wole Soyinka; from South Africa Member of Parliament and head of the ANC Women’s League Winnie Mandela, and from the Caribbean the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves and Prime Minister Mia Mottley. Nearer home came Sister Andaiye of Guyana, Dr Anthony Martin of Trinidad and Tobago and Dr Julius Garvey of Jamaica. Global personalities such as Dr Judith Aidoo-Saltus financial titan of Ghana and Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas UN Under Secretary General and Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for East Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS) left their mark on the emancipation activities over the years.
During the period, special relationships were built between the Caribbean and Africa. The then Chair, Khafra Kambon of the ESCTT assisted in the construction of the mechanism that would become the African Union Commission (AUC) Economic Social and Cultural Committee and sat on its planning body and as one of only two representatives of the African Diaspora for Civil Society. The African Union (AU) was often represented at special meetings and workshops in Trinidad and Tobago led by Dr Jinmi Adissa, Head of the Citizens and Diaspora (CIDO) Directorate which was responsible for implementing the African Union’s vision of a people-oriented and driven organization based on a partnership between governments, civil society and diaspora. Later the ESCTT had the pleasure of hosting His Excellency Kwesi Quartey, African Union Commission (AUC) Deputy Chairperson. These relationships resulted in Prime Minister Patrick Manning accepting an invitation and becoming the first Caribbean leader to address the African Union Summit (2007) and the subsequent convening of the first African Union Commission – CARICOM Summit (2021) which institutionalised CARICOM-African Union collaboration; explored greater economic trade and investment opportunities between Africa and the Caribbean; and established solidarity in actions to address global challenges including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ESCTT continues its mission stated as the restoration of African self-hood, embracing a contemporary vision of emancipation for development. The project of emancipation followed by independence is far from over. As a nation we continue to be strangled by the neo colonial structures of false hierarchies based on colour, texture of hair, residential addresses, class, wealth and ethnicity. Public spaces continue to reflect the power and values of those who exploited and oppressed. We seem as a society to be trapped in the binary power struggle for a space so narrow that we cannot address the deep and real societal issues that are tearing at the fabric of the society, the manifestation of which we see today as ‘gun violence and gender-based violence’ fastened to growing societal inequalities.
This year through the Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture Series we embarked on a journey to explore some of those deeper issues asking the fundamental question, what else needed to be done to bring emancipation and independence closer to a reality which our people can experience. What needs to be done to further decolonise our environment – in the education system, public spaces, or the data that is used to define and analyse us.
We are proud that we have been able to contribute to the decolonisation of the space that is Trinidad and Tobago through the erection of two monuments – one ARISE – to the resilient spirit of our people and the other – the Yoruba Village Monument which speaks to the contribution of African people to the cultural, social and economic landscape of Trinidad and Tobago.
The search for answers and for ordinary citizens to join us in this ongoing movement to achieve emancipation and independence is necessary. We remain optimistic that the ESCTT in this our 30th year can meet the challenges of the national, regional, and global environments made visible by the global pandemic and the ravages of climate change which we are destined to experience as a member of the community of small island developing states.