Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados has announced that a memorial and museum will be built on the site of a burial ground for approximately 570 enslaved Africans in Barbados, It will be part of the new Barbados Heritage District, which will also include a global research institute and be located at the Newton Plantation, which was established in the 1660s in the parish of Christ Church.
Mottley’s announcement was made after Barbados celebrated its new status as a republic last week.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade is a part of history that has shaped and affected us all. Here in the United States, schools are currently caught up in attempts by right-wing forces to shove the ugly history of enslavement and its systemic effects that persist today back under the rug. It is important that we understand how that trade and its role in building the British Empire, especially in the Caribbean, are entwined with our own stories.
Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.
Consider the region that became the Carolinas:
As a graduate student in anthropology, my area of study was slavery in the U.S. and the Caribbean, so hearing about the new museum and archive in Barbados immediately grabbed my attention. The announcement has excited many scholars, among them Howard University professor Ana Lucia Araujo, who tweeted out the news.
Mottley announced that world-renowned British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, lead designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAC), and his firm will design the project.
Adjaye spoke at a press conference on Dec. 3.
Adjaye explained the significance of the project’s unique structures.
The powerful video below illustrates the plans for the project and is accompanied by the haunting sound of one of the earliest known slave songs, “Massa Buy Me,” performed by Barbadian musician Roger Gibbs.
Adjaye notes that "Drawing upon the technique and philosophy of traditional African tombs, prayer sites and pyramids, the memorial is conceived as a space that contemporaneously honors the dead, edifies the living, and manifests a new diasporic future for Black civilization that is both of the African continent and distinct from it."
YouTube Video
You can view the full press conference here:
YouTube Video
In other Mottley news: On Tuesday, the prime minister was named a 2021 Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership by the United Nations.
May we all continue to learn from her strong and vocal leadership!
Please join me in the comments section below for more on Barbados’ Heritage Site, and for the weekly Caribbean news roundup.
You can read the first installment of Caribbean Matters here.
Mottley’s announcement was made after Barbados celebrated its new status as a republic last week.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade is a part of history that has shaped and affected us all. Here in the United States, schools are currently caught up in attempts by right-wing forces to shove the ugly history of enslavement and its systemic effects that persist today back under the rug. It is important that we understand how that trade and its role in building the British Empire, especially in the Caribbean, are entwined with our own stories.
Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.
Consider the region that became the Carolinas:
As a graduate student in anthropology, my area of study was slavery in the U.S. and the Caribbean, so hearing about the new museum and archive in Barbados immediately grabbed my attention. The announcement has excited many scholars, among them Howard University professor Ana Lucia Araujo, who tweeted out the news.
Mottley announced that world-renowned British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, lead designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAC), and his firm will design the project.
Adjaye spoke at a press conference on Dec. 3.
Adjaye explained the significance of the project’s unique structures.
The powerful video below illustrates the plans for the project and is accompanied by the haunting sound of one of the earliest known slave songs, “Massa Buy Me,” performed by Barbadian musician Roger Gibbs.
Adjaye notes that "Drawing upon the technique and philosophy of traditional African tombs, prayer sites and pyramids, the memorial is conceived as a space that contemporaneously honors the dead, edifies the living, and manifests a new diasporic future for Black civilization that is both of the African continent and distinct from it."
YouTube Video
You can view the full press conference here:
YouTube Video
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In other Mottley news: On Tuesday, the prime minister was named a 2021 Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership by the United Nations.
May we all continue to learn from her strong and vocal leadership!
Please join me in the comments section below for more on Barbados’ Heritage Site, and for the weekly Caribbean news roundup.
You can read the first installment of Caribbean Matters here.