Another large cross section of the Anguillian and wider community gathered at the Historic Ebenezer Chapel, and online, for the annual UWI Open Campus Anguilla Emancipation Lecture on July 21, 2022. This year’s Presenters, Dr. Ronald Harrigan, and Mr. Kenn Banks of the Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS), delivered a well-researched and thought-provoking lecture on “The Involvement of the Church in the Emancipation of the Enslaved Populations in Anguilla and the Leeward Islands”.
The presentation included an overview of life among the free and enslaved Africans in the Leeward Islands, as well as an examination of the Church in the Leeward Islands prior to Emancipation – and the Church’s involvement in the Anti-Slavery and Abolition movements in the Leeward Islands. Dr. Harrigan, who has written and lectured extensively on the topic of “Education of Enslaved Africans and their Descendants in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Mr. Banks, a local Methodist Leader/Lay Preacher with a special interest in Church History, especially missionary societies in the Caribbean and North America during the 18th and 19th Centuries, also briefly reviewed the Church in the early Post Emancipation period. The Lecture was followed by a very interactive question and answer/feedback session with the audience.
The annual celebratory event is a collaboration with the Methodist Church Anguilla Circuit, and also formed part of the activities marking the 192nd Anniversary of the Ebenezer Chapel, which was built by enslaved Anguillians and dedicated on July 25, 1830. In her welcome remarks, Manager for the local UWI Open Campus Site and Chair of the Organising Committee, Dr. Phyllis Fleming Banks, noted that that the hosting of the Emancipation Lectures at the Ebenezer Chapel was deliberate, as that Chapel was not only built by our ancestors, but was the place where they would have worshipped and gathered to celebrate the first Emancipation Day on August 1, 1834. “Ebenezer, which means ‘stone of remembrance’ is an important symbol of our emancipation, and we will continue to host our lectures here in remembrance of those who sacrificed so much for our freedom,” she said.
The programme was chaired by career educator, and Principal of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, Mrs. Rita Celestine-Carty, who in emphasising the importance of the annual Emancipation Lecture Series, noted that, “It is essential, vital even, that, as members of the African Diaspora, we all seek to bend our minds to an unravelling of the past, as this can only lead to a better grasp of self in the present.”
Other highlights on the programme included musical renditions by Roots Binghi and the Ebenezer Men’s Fellowship, and Mr. David Carty’s riveting delivery of “T’aint no aya” – the poem that earned him the 2022 Malliouhana Poetry Performance/Spoken Word First Place Award.
Opening and closing prayers were offered by Reverend Wilmoth Hodge who noted that the Methodist Church is honoured to continue the collaboration in the hosting of the Emancipation Celebrations. The vote of thanks was delivered senior Church Steward at the Ebenezer Chapel, Mr. Sanford Richardson, who applauded The UWI Open Campus for launching and continuing the Lecture Series in commemoration of Emancipation and the anniversary of the Historic Chapel. Also participating in the ceremony were Chair of the UWI Open Campus Anguilla Guild of Students, Ms. Jahnesha Jones, and senior Staff member Ms. René Henry, who introduced the presenters.
The UWI Open Campus Emancipation Lecture Committee has extended its appreciation to all those who participated in the Emancipation Celebration. Special thanks to Presenters Dr. Ronald Harrigan, and Mr. Kenn Banks of the AAHS, to Reverends Vincia Celestine and Wilmoth Hodge, and the Methodist Circuit on Anguilla, the Ebenezer Congregation, including Mrs. Javiette Richardson-Gomez and team of Intriket Events and Designs; Musicians, Ms. Akira Rogers, Roots Binghi and the Ebenezer Men’s Fellowship and Malliouhana Poet, Mr. David Carty.
Appreciation is also extended to the Acting Premier, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, and Mrs. Hodge, other colleagues and UWI Alumni for their presence, as well as the media, including Mr. Carlton Pickering and KCN Television, Lloyd’s Live, Radio Anguilla, Klass FM, Kool FM, Upbeat Radio, The Anguillian newspaper and The Daily Herald for their coverage and support.
– Press Release
