Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall (left) looks at the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee (JNBC) banner with Minister of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture, Aloun Assamba (second left); and chairperson of the JNBC, Professor Verene Shepherd. Professor Hall was presented with the banner last week at King's House. March 25, 2007 was commemorated as the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Trans-atlantic Slave Trade. - JIS photo

Prof. Rex Nettleford, Contributor

One of UNESCO's lasting contributions to a global grasp of the mandatory commitment to human progress is, arguably, its successful advocacy to achieve official recognition of slavery and the trade in Africans as a crime against humanity in time for the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Tolerance held in Durban in 2001. This was, indeed, fostered as a priority strategy by the International Scientific Committee of the "Slave Route" Project (ISP) established in 1994, and revitalised and restructured in 2004 on its tenth anniversary.

There were clear achievements of the "Slave Route" Project in its first 10 years of existence under the Chairmanship of Amahtar McBow, a former Director-General and expertly administered by Doudou Dienne. For one thing, it served as a catalyst to break the silence of the history of the trade in Africans and slavery. For another, the research work which it fostered produced publications and archival documents beneficial to intellectuals, research centres and the public at large.

Increased awareness

As a result, there is now a noticeable difference in the awareness of the 'slavery' themes which were exhibited and illustrated as part of cultural activities, museum display, tourist sightseeing and a slew of festivals. There is also an increased number of websites relevant to the trade and enslaved people on both sides of the Atlantic. The year 2004, declared the 'International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition', received extensive mediacoverage worldwide in addition to numerous touring exhibitions and conferences held during the year.

Above all, the 'Slave Route Project' made a quantum leap by reaching out to the educational system throughout the Americas, Western Europe and Africa. Professor Hilary Beckles, pro-vice chancellor and principal of UWI's Cave Hill campus and Dr. Sandra Gift of the St. Augustine campus were key players in this through the Associated Schools' Project Network. Associated with this was Professor Verene Shepherd at the Mona campus and now the chairperson of Jamaica's Bicentenary Committee for the Commemoration of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Trade in enslaved Africans.

From the very beginning, Jamaica was an important and active participant in this initiative designed to shed light on the evolution of African, American, European and Caribbean societies so as to provide an understanding of the interactions engendered by history, geography and culture. Central to this were efforts to broaden awareness of the multiple causes and modalities surrounding the Trans-Atlantic trade in Africans, as well as slavery in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. Great emphasis was placed on the consequences evident in the Americas, including the Caribbean, the main entry port for the trade in Africans across the Middle Passage over two centuries.

A Caribbean 'national' now presides over the revitalised 'Slave Route Project', having served the earlier dispensation as rapporteur and coordinator of the Caribbean region's activities in the programme.

It was, therefore, logical for Jamaica to stand on the right side of history and establish a non-partisan National Committee to plan and manage the commemoration of the bicentenary observation of the abolition by Britain of the trans-atlantic trade in Africans as being a forerunner to the abolition 31 years later of that core dimension of the 'crime', namely the system of slavery.

Strategic support

Against this background, the 'Slave Route Project' found it easy to forge an alliance with the Office of the Mayor of London in its initiative to "provide strategic symbolic and political support and leadership for London's activities in connecting with the 2007 commemoration" by building on such current issues as equality and economic dependency and forging partnerships with such international bodies as UNESCO. The extremely sensitive subject of the trade itself 'and its continuing legacy' has long been on UNESCO's agenda of concerns and the 'Slave Route Project' has been earmarked as the ideal agency to represent it in the partnership.

Those who forget or deny their history are indeed doomed to repeat it. So Jamaica's response to the obstinate persistence of the consequences of slavery and the trade in Africans is obligatory, for it seeks to help clear the way for a civilised, self-regarding future forged by our own efforts. Such is the real significance of Jamaica's participation in the bicentenary commemoration of the abandonment of a trade that was rooted in unrelieved greed, intensive labour exploitation and cynical disregard for the innate humanity of so-called 'lesser races' to which the forebears of the vast majority of modern-day Jamaicans would have been deemed to belong.