After “celebrating” the people who fought to maintain slavery for many years, Bridgetown is finally honouring those who struggled to end enslavement.
Hugh Holder, one of the architectural designers behind the Monument To The Barbadian Family, shared that perspective last Tuesday after the structure, which also honours the family, officially replaced the British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson in National Heroes Square, The City.
“The monument to the Barbadian family takes us through a 400-year journey. That journey begins with our ancestral families who fought for 200 years to break the chains and shackles of our oppressive past, represented on the two ends of the monument.
“Hence, instead of celebrating Lord Nelson or the people who fought to maintain slavery, we are now celebrating the people who fought to end it,” Holder said during the unveiling ceremony, two days before Barbados celebrates its 57th year of Independence and two years since it transitioned to a parliamentary republic.
Following years of calls for Nelson’s statue to be moved, it was finally taken down in November 2020. In May 2022 Government announced a design competition for a new monument and artists were asked to submit their concepts.
Holder and Jones’ submission took the top prize of $15 000 and work to install the monument began earlier this year.
Holder told the hundreds gathered about the significance of the steles which highlight all 11 National Heroes, and the stone statue of the family located in the centre of the rusted broken chains.
“Those people not only freed themselves from these shackles but held them open, cleared the way and planted the seed from which our new modern family could sprout, grow and thrive.
“We see this in the seed-shaped base that the modern family statue emerges from the centre of the monument. The Barbadian family is the true hero of our nation. Our strong nuclear and extended family values are engraved throughout our villages, communities and country. From these loyal sons and daughters all came our National Heroes as represented on the heroes’ steles.
The West Wing of Parliament is in the background of the Monument To The Barbadian Family, depicting the open slave shackles at the eastern end. (Picture by Reco Moore)
“We hope when you visit this monument, you recognise the valuable contributions of the Barbadian family,” Holder added.
Jones said they believed the piece was a vital talking point that needed to be discussed.
“Neither of us are artists, but are practitioners of the noble profession of the built environment. We have sought to create an ongoing conversation about the truth that we as a people must start to discuss, interrogate, understand and engage with,” he said.
He is hoping the area will also be digitised to enhance the visitor experience.
“It’s our hope that once the QR codes are installed, that this monument will be a dynamic hub, and with every visit at different times will have something new to share through the immersive experience we have designed,” Jones added. (TSG)