|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Reading Time 3 mins
August is a time to remember. It begins with a heralding throughout the Anglo-phone Caribbean as Emancipation Day in which we celebrate the emancipation of slavery. We recall too Jamaica’s journey – leading the way of political independence on the occasion of its 58 year of political independence. It is also the month in which Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887 – 1940), philosopher and founder of the Pan-Africanism movement was born, August 17. Trinidad follows the trail to bookend this history-filled month of remembrance with the commemoration of this Caribbean republic’s 58 year of political independence on August 31.
The Ark of Return is the product of Haitian-American architect Rodney Leon.
Internationally though, August 23 is the big one! This day is designated by UNESCO as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Simultaneously, we salute the Haitian people on the uprising of 1791, which opened the door to freedom of people of African decedent and thus a deepening of the human rights movement around the world.
First celebrated in in Haiti on August 23, 1998 and in Senegal in 1998, the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is set aside to pay tribute to those whose sacrifice and martyrdom abolished the slave trade and slavery throughout the world. The Haitian rebellion of late August 1791 had a major effect on ending the transatlantic slave trade. It weakened the colonial system in the Caribbean and sparked an uprising that ultimately led to abolishing chattel slavery and, with it, emerged the first independent black republic in the Americas. The Haitian Revolution (1791 – 1804) was the spark that led to three great strikes – ending the slave trade, destroying chattel slavery, and beginning the unraveling of colonialism.
The Haitian Revolution had international impact because the commitment and the actions used to fight against this system of slavery deepened the international human rights movement. Today, new challenges exist because the old crimes of slavery co-exists in new forms in many countries throughout the world. Facilitated by the technological and communication revolutions, these 21st century crimes with elements of the old slavery include super-exploitative labor, sex slavery, human trafficking, domestic servitude, organ harvesting, child labor, etc.
The 2020 Theme of the Day of Remembrance is “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together”. This is a fitting frame considering that one of devastating legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is racism. Although racism was historically used to justify the enslavement of Africans, today it has led to people of African descent being relegated to the poorest and most marginalized people in many countries, and among countries internationally. And there is a growing body of study showing that the areas of Africa most impacted by the slave trade correlates with Africa’s and the world’s most impoverished.
According to the UN, “the 2020 theme underscores the reality that lasting effects of the transatlantic slave trade, including racism, continue to divide societies across the globe and hamper our advancement towards a world that respects human rights and enables sustainable development for all. Only through confronting these legacies can we truly promote inclusion and move forward together.”
Today, the deepening demands for reparations in North America, the Caribbean and Brazil advance the quest for a deeper human rights agenda throughout the Americas and the world at large. Just like the abolition of slavery advanced the cause of human rights internationally, the effects of reparations (as a response to the legacy of slavery) will further advance the cause of human rights throughout the world.
Be stronger on Remembrance Day!
Martin P. Felix (for Big Drum Nation)
#RememberSlavery #ForcedLabour #ModernSlavery