 Lisa Suffren and welcome to the launch of Emancipation Celebration 2022. And kindling our consciousness is a recognition of our past and an awareness of our struggles towards shaping our identity as a nation. Emancipation 2022 is part of a three-year plan that will provide ongoing opportunities for us St. Lucian's to borrowing from the late great Robert Nesta Mali emancipate ourselves from mental slavery and free our minds from the one-sided interpretations of emancipation. The act of being free from bondage, it speaks to a process of liberation from influence, control or the power of another from slavery. It is freedom from a system or systems of oppression. Emancipation in St. Lucia, the Caribbean or the West Indies spans continuous, courageous and critical attempts by the region's inhabitants beginning with the first peoples, the Amerindians to take back their humanity and reject European slavery and colonization. Enslaved Africans increased and sustained revolutionary activities during the late 18th to 19th century throughout the region's French, Dutch, Spanish and British colonies. These revolts also influence unrest among the regions indentured laborers in the British colonies. The emancipation celebration is a story of African and indigenous peoples triumph over European white supremacy. It is to remind our people of the victorious struggles of their ancestors and to engage their input in building of a new society, a society representing their own ideals, own cultural, social, economic and political development which are the prerequisites for a free and independent nation and region. Greetings and a heart of love, in kindling our consciousness, we the Rastafari people no longer see ourselves as victims but as victors, gets towards the national discussions and development of our country. Emancipation is to see and develop as a nation. And kindling our consciousness is about recognizing our past, embracing our identity and looking towards the future. Emancipation is my right and my freedom to live as I please and to continue learning from my ancestors. My emancipation is learning to be free. As a result of the trauma endured during the tenure of slavery, I am now learning to be free. To enkindle our consciousness, to ensure that we emancipate ourselves from mental slavery from the standpoint that only we can free our minds. Emancipation month 2022 and kindling our consciousness. Now the story of emancipation is a part of all of us, one that we should be willing to understand and embrace. I wish it was as simple as affirmations and positive words. If history had always been as delicious as the filling of your tongue caressing the roof of your mouth when you said words like caramel, mocha and chocolate to describe your skin tone, then this reintroduction would have been so much easier. Now Malcolm X asked the question, who taught you to hate yourself? And in reply I asked Brother Malcolm, who didn't, I mean who hasn't? Every step towards self-love as a black person is revolutionary. Every embrace of skin, every pleased inhalation, every welcome caress is the fires. Black love has always been self-taught. Black skin tastes like struggle, salty sweet with a hint of hope on your palate, tempting you to return to indulging it because nothing this sweet should be so painful to swallow. Now double jeopardy is a term that is used to signify that one cannot be tried for the same crime twice. This means you only have one opportunity to bring together all of the evidence that you have and to put a case as solid as possible to either get this person convicted or released. You do not have the free reign to keep punishing them over and over. It is a slap in the face of fairness but to be black and woman is the physical manifestation of double jeopardy. It is wearing your crime in the swing of your hips and the hue of your skin. It is being seen as too strong to need protection and weak enough to be taken advantage of. We ride the lines of being too much and not enough every day. I fell in love with my hair because everything around me told me that I shouldn't. I dare not rock that throne or stay away from a comb or glorify my mane. I am in gratitude for the width of my hips and the strength of my thighs. I will not apologize for my size. Whenever the act of rebellion is preceded by the promise of love, count me in. Write my name down twice. I have attributed anything worth having to be accompanied by a plethora of reasons why I shouldn't have it. Now there is something gravity defying about a black man. Regardless of the rules that are in place to say otherwise, he refuses to stay down. His spirit has no anchor and his wings, even at rest, will still hover. Black man, black woman, you need to remember who you are. You are not the descendants of slaves. You are the great grandchildren of inventors and doctors and artists who were stolen. You are the bloodline of royalty lied about. You are ancestors returning without chains. Your skin is your asset. Remember who you are. Look at me. You Osiris, god of agriculture, death and resurrection. Look at me. Yes, you Thoth, the god of writing, wisdom and inventor of languages. Lift your chest up. Deceit, goddess of medicine, healing and destruction. Walk tall, my art, goddess of harmony, justice and truth. These are the beliefs that forge you. This is your historical foundation. Before they gave you Jesus, you had Amunra. Before you cut sugarcane and picked cotton, you built pyramids. Before you were sold and plundered and exploited, you invented medicine. And before you were told that you were sub-human man, you taught the world to read. This is who you are. This is what you are capable of. And eons ago, this is what you did. Imagine what you are capable of doing now. With the broad nose, imagine. With the wooly hair, imagine. With the dark skin, imagine. With the sentries of pain that is yours to transform, just imagine. You are not an apology. You never will. Now act like it. Thank you, Kishmah, for this affirmation of self-love and resistance labels attached to our uniqueness. And speaking of resistance, slavery-bellion occurred before emancipation. And even after emancipation, riots continued. That's according to Sir William F. Lewis. However, here's an interesting fact, 1804, Haiti became the first country to abolish the slave trade and establish the world's first black republic. That in itself is an event to celebrate, acknowledge, and draw parallels to. That reminds me of some recent changes in governance in one of our sister islands. You know, as a people, anything we put our minds to, we can definitely accomplish. As we reflect on our past, we grow in appreciation for our present, and we look forward to our future, convinced that anything is possible. Here's Diana Phillip with an inspiring number. Live somewhere, students, I'm blessed, oh yes. Sometimes I'm lost and far from home, but I find my way, I follow my heart, I know I'll be found someday. While I'm lost, I learn and live. What do you say? Let's have a good time until that day. Oh, every morning. I'm lost and far from home, but I find my way, I follow my heart, I know I'll be found someday. For some fun facts, emancipation began and when exactly did it end? In 2007, King George III signed the abolition of the slave trade act, banning it across the British Empire. Fact, August 1st, 1834, Emancipation Day marked the official end of slavery in the British Empire. And fact, August 1st, 1838, enslaved Africans throughout the British Empire were freed from shuttle slavery. The Cultural Development Foundation is spearheading the Emancipation celebrations for 2022, supported by the National Reparation Committee, the NRC, among other organizations. Let's get some background from the ED of CDF, Ramona Henry-Winn, and the chairman of the NRC, Earl Buske, with some more titillating entertainment to follow. Welcome, viewers, at home on the diaspora. The Cultural Development Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information in collaboration with Events Company of St. Lucia, will present Emancipation 2022 to 2024 under the theme of kindling our consciousness. The concept and theme created by the CDF is focused on raising a deep awareness and appreciation of our people on what emancipation really means to us, how it has shaped and directed us. We shed a view that inclusivity is the sure way of getting the message across to all spheres of our society. Our history must evoke in us a spirit of consciousness to the plight of our forefathers who battled to ensure that today we are a free people. Our partners will do their part through a number of exciting activities over a three-month period. The exciting program encompasses areas of interest for all age groups and will be executed through live and virtual formats. There will be exciting educational programs to encangle our consciousness through arts, politics, culture, landscape, and people. The St Lucia National Reparations Committee is pleased to be associated with this venture to sponsor a month of activities to help the citizens better understand what emancipation really means to Caribbean people today and especially Caribbean people of African descent. We all grew up celebrating Emancipation Day as a holiday every August post, but too many of us never knew why, except what we were taught. But every Caribbean nation has its own emancipation-related stories and pre-emancipation heroes and Emancipation Month 2022 will start a three-year project to better inform and educate solutions about what emancipation was supposed to have been, what it actually was, and why and how it should be remembered. There are intrinsic links between slavery and emancipation, apprenticeship and indentorship, and the call by curriculum leaders almost nine years ago for reparations from Britain and Europe for slavery and native genocide in the colonial West Indies. We thank former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony for contributing to the formation of the CARICOM Reparations Commission and supporting, or should I say, and appointing the National Reparations Committee in St. Lucia in November of 2013. And we deeply thank Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre for allocating 11 times more resources to this project for a fundamentally better understanding of the place and role of emancipation in Caribbean history. We look forward to this project igniting by kindling and or end kindling our consciousness in year one, rekindling that consciousness in year two, and by year three hopefully for us to all be in a better position to better understand why and how to approach Bob Marley's eternal message to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because as he keeps reminding us, none but ourselves can free our minds. Here's to an eye-opening and mind-freeing Emancipation Month 2022. My emancipation is to be free and who I am. And kindling our consciousness is about bringing an awareness to our past. It truly allows us to appreciate who we are and to celebrate that freedom we enjoy today. And kindling our consciousness, evoking a burning desire, understanding and appreciation for the process that governed our circumstances and decision-making through the struggles of our forefathers that influence the people that we have become. Let us tell our story, let us celebrate our victories. Do we actually think that we're really free? See that's the question because I mean eventually will there ever be a point where we dig a little deeper to probably find the next book in the chapter to maybe see if there's really more to the story. I mean we've never looked beyond belief but say we know truth but still not set free. So we sing Bob Marley so proudly that after all these years you'd figure, you people still can emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. I mean do you even understand your capacity? Mines as ruthless as the ocean, you reach your limits yet you shine, your minds entwined in the land of the vinder, true vine would steep in your souls. So who else can stop me if not me if I decided to see this world? But I've glimpsed it, life and it's not meant to be perfect, it's meant to be fulfilled. So make a mistake and then another one and another one then shake the dust off your feet because who knows what tomorrow brings. It's like life teaches a test for tomorrow's lesson but without the right information what's the point of the next day's session? I mean do you even understand what happens in this world that we live in? Apart from what they make us see on TV, then from young school, they write it in our bookstore just the way that we see, they make it mandatory. You see all that dirty laundry constantly got our minds brainwashed with no gain. So we just buy lies and then we're soaked but I've been told to stop being told how to think and do it yourself. See the true colors. Taste the rainbow then follow because on the other side there is gold. But we died for lack of knowledge, but we can live and learn. But for those who reject knowledge, where are we even going? I mean is that why they say hey let's starve them. So now we hunger to be fed lies and if we don't hear they make these death hand signs hatred in their red eyes against you. You're under again Jitsu and what's worse is that you don't flinch too. So as the hand clicks, the clock ticks in time when better these people become weak and then they start to fear truth instead of its reality. So instead of facing it, we look away and before they speak, positivity. That says a lot to me. That we rather make our beds behind these bars with the keys in our pockets than we'd lock it and look we say it's raining outside. If I get wet I might get sick so why risk it? Let that sink. But have some food for thought. You see you're not free because you were let out of the jail cell. They give them the liberty to walk the prison courts. Now that's plain freedom. So crack your skull open, get those starch rolling and free dome because the truth is people don't love the idea of freedom because it ain't free. Just put them in a box, live them comfortably. Throw them in a pen, give them what they think they need because these sheeple, they just hate the idea of a slavery. So they play we. I mean really, how can you call freedom, freedom being taken to accept charity like it was freely given? You see freedom is not disintegration to exploitation. How is that even accepted as a normal way of living? Look, if I said how is your independence but still have you depending that's not redemption, that's deception because the road to liberation is through rebellion only with obedience to Yah. And if only we got that revelation we can start a revolution if only we had more vision and more support to our brethren we could build a nation if only we could settle our disputes but instead we run to outsiders who take our stuff then come around us a couple chains to downside us then bind us. I mean, I know we love to shake our hands can someone please take these shacks off our feet so we can actually learn how to dance? I mean, that would be a dream but don't mind me I'm just blowing off steam. I swear we on the same team still faded the teams but once you open our eyes and let the scene be seen then we gleam but we're still running running to a point of no return. We're looking for Eden with no idea where we're heading we're just running. So blink and that's liberty. My emancipation is my right to articulate my thoughts my freedom to express those thoughts my right to be myself my freedom to be me and embrace my heritage emancipate yourselves from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds and kindling in our consciousness is talking to us as a people in terms of liberating ourselves moving away from materialistic way of life into a level where we are taking care of our brothers and sisters and kindling our consciousness arousing our awareness as a people it's important that we are aware of where we're coming from who are our ancestors, what are our traditions, what are our cultural identity as these forms of fundamental basis of who we are our knowledge of self and what we can aspire to achieve and achieve Our past does not dictate our past and kindling our consciousness is about igniting an awareness of our past struggles and triumphs to nurture an empowered future Emancipation 2022 promises to be an exciting, edutaining, engaging time of activities all culminating in the month of August Let's take in the calendar of events and be sure to save the dates St Lucia celebrates Emancipation 2022 under the theme and kindling our consciousness embracing our past celebrating our heroes and strides as a people in a series of engaging, educating and entertaining events from July to August 2022 Be part of the movement, join the celebration by following the calendar of activities June through to July, exciting discussions and discoveries in a traveling community and schools education drive Sunday 31st July 8am, a dynamic food display of breadfruit and breadnut festival at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church Annex Sunday July 31st 4pm, the historic honoring and unveiling of the Emancipation Hero Petrony, Denry Village Monday 1st August 4am, live drums and dance ritual converging at the Castries Waterfront in a public celebration of song, dance and rhythm Castries Waterfront Monday 1st August 10am, lecture by Honorable Dr. June Sumer UN Permanent Forum, Decade of People of African Descent St Lucia Caribbean Perspective Lecture by Sir Hilary Beckles How Europe Underdeveloped the Caribbean, the St Lucia Model Monday 1st August 5pm, a freedom concert featuring St Lucia musicians, singers and performers Sufra Stadium Tuesday 11th August 8pm, youth podcasts, voices of the next generation National Youth Council and Interact Rotary St Lucia Tuesday 18th August 8pm, panel discussion Distribution and Dispensation of Land, Post Emancipation NTN Studios, Secrets of the Mountain, a series of hikes to Mount Jimmy Saturday 6th August 13th 27th from 6.30am Tuesday 25th August 7pm, groundbreaking documentary Mama La Vie, National Cultural Center Tuesday 30th August 9am, La Huaz Festival Guam Fet A sensory experience of color, a celebration of tradition, food and entertainment Castries Constitution Park and William Peter Boulevard For more information, go to CDFStLucia.org Most excited about the drums and dance ritual Which event are you excited about? Listed as top priority for our government was the commemoration of emancipation with emphasis on education and celebration through a full calendar of activities from June to August Minister of Tourism, Information, Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries Honorable Dr Ernest Hilaire, who is leading this charge will now speak to the rationale for giving emancipation a prominent place on our events calendar A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots, so said Marcus Gavi 1st August 2022 will mark 188 years since the official end of slavery and 184 years since enslaved Africans were freed from the bondage of chattel slavery throughout the British Empire The quote I cited away from Marcus Gavi represents a philosophical thinking of why we have been celebrating Emancipation Day since 1848 Emancipation Day should be a time for reflection and introspection of our history as a nation and people and to use these past experiences to chart a prosperous course for our beloved St Lucia My government has reiterated the importance of acknowledging the profound importance of Emancipation Day This year marks over a century and a half of freedom not just for slaves but for all of us and kindling our consciousness, the theme for this year's Emancipation celebrations is supposed to invoke a sense of reflection of our history and the blood-sweat and tears that was shed by our ancestors to shape the identity of our beloved island Over the years, we've been falling into the trap of continuing business as usual on this holiday rather than observing the significance of the day This year we've committed greater resources to the commemoration of Emancipation to ensure that we as a people who have benefited from the hardships of our ancestors who were enslaved can begin to understand the true meaning of Emancipation and kindling our consciousness is also the overarching theme that will encompass all Emancipation events for the next three years here in St Lucia It will serve as a catalyst for change through schools and community education programs about Emancipation allowing us to embrace and accept our identity which will empower us to start chatting in your future as a nation The celebrations aim to encourage wide-scale community and public participation throughout the period of July to September We will aim to create a greater sense of awareness of Emancipation through events that will focus on the pivotal moments of our past into facets of our arts, culture, politics, landscape and people Too often we seem to forget our own history as it relates to slavery We must always pay homage to the slaves, our ancestors who toil on our fertile soils to enrich not themselves but rather the colonial powers and to enrich persons who did not care about human life and did not see us as human beings While Mali says we need to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery as none but ourselves can free our minds Let us reflect on this profound clarion call and use it as a base principle and not be caught off guard in a modern world where they may not be physical but rather mental, economic and social shackles As your Minister of Culture and Creative Industries I will continue to champion on behalf of the Government of St Lucia efforts that will enhance and continue to pay recognition to the importance of such a historic day on our calendar I look forward to the calendar of activities that have been put together by the Cultural Development Foundation and all stakeholders through the Emancipation Committee and ask you to reflect on our history remember our struggles for survival and conceptualize a bright future for a beautiful Helen of the West There you have it The Emancipation Celebration calendar of events and activities Thank you for viewing and good night Thank you for watching