ONE year after the first public consultation on statues and monuments in TT, the Port of Spain City Council has announced that the BRONZE statue of Christopher Columbus will be moved to the National Museum, and a new monument will be created to replace it. In addition to this, a section of Oxford Street will be renamed Kwame Ture Way. This was announced by the capital city’s mayor Chinua Alleyne on August 1- African Emancipation Day – ahead of the annual Kambule Street Procession.
For decades, there have been debates on the statue of the infamous Italian explorer who falsely claimed to “discover” TT and massacred its original inhabitants. Some believed it should be removed entirely, some suggested the museum as is being done, and others felt its removal would be erasing history.” It was even vandalised a few times in recent years – smeared with red paint and the hands removed. There is also a Columbus statue in Moruga. In 2024, the then government appointed a committee to hold public consultations on statues, monuments and signage in the country. Its members included Dr Rita Pemberton, Lawrence Arjoon, Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, Annalean Inniss, Zaida Rajnauth and Kobe Sandy.
Alleyne told Newsday the decision was made at the corporation’s July 30 statuatory meeting, and the statue will be removed “as soon as possible in the new financial year.
“The next steps will be to instruct the city engineer’s department to advise the council on the best technical approach to effect the removal.”
Columbus must go
The streets of Port of Spain were filled with a rainbow of bright colours as people turned out in their numbers for the parade, decked in traditional African garb. The rhythms of African drums and music by local legends like Ella Andall, David Rudder and Brother Resistance made many dance and sway as they began their journey to the Queen’s Park Savannah. There were also representatives of different religious bodies including Spiritual Baptists, Orisha practitioners, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Bobo Shanti mansion of Rastafari, among others.
Alleyne made the announcement just before the parade began, and the audience cheered, with many screaming, “About time!” and, “Finally.”
He said it was done not only celebrate local heroes but to ensure that future generations are educated and inspired.
He said in 1880, the statue was gifted to the then Borough Council by a wealthy cocoa planter and merchant from Martinique, Hypolite Borde. He said the merchant paid for the refurbishment of an old, neglected cemetery, which is now known as Columbus Square. It was opened in 1881 by Governor Sir William Young as a memorial and tribute to the navigator. But he maintained the statue “must go” for healing to occur.
“The renaming of spaces and places, the erection of public monuments and the artistic and architectural styles that were imposed, were used as effective tools of domination and subjugation.”
Explaining why the council opted for it to be put in the museum, he said, “More than 140 years later, restoration and repair require that as we ensure that the yet-to-be-born revere our ancestors like Kwame Ture, we also ensure that they learn our colonial history in its most appropriate historical context.”
He said a committee will be set up to determine a new name for the square in honour of all of the victims of the genocide of indigenous peoples, the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism. He added that an art collective will also be created to come up with a new monument for the location.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a name is a powerful thing.”
When Newsday visited the statue after the announcement, its head was covered with a handbag.
As for Kwame Ture Way, this will be the new name of the section of Oxford Street from Argyle Street to Charlotte Street. The audience erupted for this announcement, too.
This, Alleyne said, is in honour the pan-African revolutionary’s contribution to the fight against institutional racism.
Born in TT, Ture was a prominent civil rights activist and leader within the Pan-African and black nationalist movements.
Alleyne said the National Trust already recognised Ture’s birth home on Oxford Street as a heritage site, but the renaming was necessary to celebrate his contributions.
“It is our hope that those yet to be born will grow up inspired by the work of this global pan-African hero from behind the bridge in Port of Spain.”
Be proud of your heritage
Emancipation Support Committee (ESCTT) chairman Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada said she was thankful that Africans could continue to celebrate emancipation from slavery, noting it is the 187th anniversary of same.
“The liberation of Africans from enslavement, as I always say, was not a win for just Africans but a win for all of us. So we give thanks for this beautiful moment.”
She said there is strength in unity, which is why the event was so important. She added that the celebrations have been amazing and emotional.
“We get ready to go together in pride, with dignity, with the strength of ourselves…One of the important things about today is to help us reconnect with self. Part of the journey of emancipation is a process of a journey back to self. We have to remember who we were before we were enslaved, remember where we came from.”
African people, she said, continue to rise, despite the continued challenges they face, adding that there are “a lot of battles to fight” still.
“The ESCTT is not about a few people. It is about all of us, all of our journey, and we can only win if we do it together.”
Culture Minister Michelle Benjamin said to her, African Emancipation Day is a day “to reclaim.
“Those who sit amongst us and want us to forget, we cannot forget. If we forget, then we are the ones with the ships on our ancestors’ back.”
She added, “The burden that we have is that we have to fly the flag that they dreamt of – and that dream was freedom.”
She expressed respect and honour for African ancestors and elders, saying that they must live on through the present and future generations.
“Our story did not start with slavery. Our elders said it started as kings and queens. I want the young African youths in TT to know.”
She said the spirit of the ancestors were present, and as a Spiritual Baptist, her spirit feels awakened when this happens.
“Freedom is not just a word. (We must) call for justice and self-determination right here in TT…We have to remember that we are representing our bloodline.
“Today, we do not ask to be seen, we do not ask to be heard, we do not ask to be free. We walk in our freedom. We lift our ancestors with every step and we claim the future in their name.”
Elder Equino Moyo also did libations.
Several government and opposition members paraded the streets including Planning Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh, Minister of Public Administration and AI Dominic Smith, Minister in the Ministry of Housing Phillip Edward Alexander, Pennelope Beckles, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Symon de Nobriga, Kareem Marcelle and Hans des Vignes. Former ministers were also present including Fitzgerald Hinds and Donna Cox.
Read more on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
