Hundreds Attend Emancipation Jubilee at Seville Heritage Park

Hundreds of persons converged on the Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann to participate in the 28th annual Emancipation Jubilee, which began on Wednesday (July 31) and ended on Emancipation Day, Thursday, August 1.

The event, which was attended by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, was marked by the symbolic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at midnight.

Among the other featured engagements were performances of traditional songs, poetry and dance and a concert showcasing several artistes, including George Nooks, Sister Pat, and Leroy Sibbles.

Patrons also partook of cultural dishes served up by vendors, as well as the traditional chocolate tea served in enamel mugs.

Minister Grange, in her remarks, said the event was a “coming together, as family” to remember the ancestors.

“We remember them as disrupted lives, when they were captured and removed from their homeland. We remember them as unwanted victims of torture, devaluation and physical and mental abuse during their forced removal from their homeland into chattel enslavement on plantations in Jamaica, such as Argyll, Success in Hanover, Oxford in St. Mary, and Roselle in St. Thomas, among others,” she stated.

Ms. Grange added that the ancestors are also remembered for their successful and tireless efforts to move from being “victims to victors”, and their determination to “never be slaves, even as they were enslaved”.

“We remember their solidarity among each other and their determination that none shall be left behind as they sacrificed their lives for our freedom. That is what we celebrate when we come here, at Seville Heritage Park, [for] every Emancipation Jubilee,” the Minister said.

“We celebrate the resistance, rebellions and wars, as they upended plantations and ultimately struck out for freedom. We celebrate their resilience, tenacity and commitment to have their rights to freedom and dignity as human beings reinstated,” Ms. Grange further stated.

For his part, Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) Chairman, Orville Hill, said the Emancipation Jubilee was a time to honour the resilience and enduring legacy of the ancestors’ struggle for freedom.

“This year marks several significant milestones in our journey as a nation and as a people. We recognise the 217 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, a pivotal step towards dismantling the brutal system of human bondage,” he noted.

Mr. Hill pointed out that it has been some 186 years since Britain declared full emancipation for all its colonies in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, heralding a new era of hope and possibilities.

“Moreover, we celebrate the 62nd Anniversary of our hard-won Independence, a testament to our determination to chart our own destiny,” he added.

The Jubilee was hosted by the Ministry and JNHT under the theme ‘Feel Di Spirit’.