UNDER patronage of the Department of Culture, Youth & Sport of the Ministry of Education, the Museum of African Heritage launched its annual Emancipation exhibition under the theme “Recognition, Justice and Development”, at the National Museum yesterday.The theme examines the artifacts of the village movement period (1838 to 1856) and the movements in the twentieth century, while acknowledging the status and role of the village fathers who

contributed to the creation of a sovereign state called Guyana.

Plastered on the walls of the National Museum were detailed posters highlighting the establishment of communal villages and legislation passed as a result of the African Village Movement, which paved the way for Local Government Elections in Guyana.

The village movement in British Guiana and throughout the Caribbean can be described as a continuation and extension of the struggle and resistance against domination and exploitation of the planters. The aim of these planters was to bind the Africans to the plantations by implementing laws that would compel them to work.

Prior to the end of Apprenticeship in 1838, a Vagrancy Act and a Police and Poor Law Act were passed to restrict the freedom of movement of the soon-to-be ex-apprentices. However, economic circumstances forced the planters to change their position, since plantations, specifically cotton, became unprofitable. Time progressed and the economy was still dwindling, and this circumstance ultimately paved the way for the Village Movement.

The exhibition, which will last throughout the month of August, aims to target academics to enlighten them on the developments during the Village Movement era.

At launch of the exhibition, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry told those gathered that economic independence, for which our forefathers fought, cannot be established unless education is made the primary mechanism for development in Guyana.

In furtherance of this objective, Henry said, the Ministry of Education is currently crafting policies that would correct the ‘creaking’ in the education system.

That aside, the Minister took to the podium reflections of Emancipation, wherein she pointed out that Emancipation is not just about the abolition of slavery, but also about the rise of Indentureship, which contributed to the birth of our nation.

In order to carry out Emancipation activities this year, the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, donated cheques totalling $11.9M to African groups to facilitate their Emancipation Day celebrations.

This exhibition is one of the many activities to commemorate Emancipation Day, which was celebrated on August 1st. Patrons gathered in the National Park on Emancipation Day to celebrate the liberation of enslaved Africans who had lived in Guyana and other Caribbean territories.

Emancipation activities will continue until the end of August.

By Shivanie Sugrim