Caribbean Leaders Boost Emancipation Day Celebrations

In Trinidad and Tobago, Culture and Community Development Minister Michelle Benjamin pledged government support for the Emancipation Support Committee, promising to settle its debts and expand African Emancipation Day festivities for 2026. She called for greater unity, reparations and direct air links between the islands and Africa, echoing the committee head Zakiya Uzoma Wadada’s appeal for decolonisation and cultural solidarity.

In Barbados, Pan‑African Affairs and Heritage Minister Trevor Prescod criticised the low turnout at this year’s Emancipation Day event and urged citizens to deepen historical awareness. He announced a scholarship programme for master’s degrees in Black studies and reparations, to be run with the University of the West Indies and the University of Glasgow, and highlighted new cultural initiatives such as a Bob Marley tribute and the restoration of a historic plantation bell.