Anthony Lee Hing (Master of Ceremonies)

The Jamaican community in Atlanta commemorated the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807 on Saturday March 17, 2007, at a function organized by the Atlanta Jamaican Association through its Cultural Committee.  The event took place at the Hillside Presbyterian Church Hall, Columbia Drive, Decatur.It was chaired by attorney and active member of the Association, Anthony Lee Hing.  

The action by the Association followed the adoption by the 192 member countries of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization declaring March 25 to be the International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade by the British Parliament in 1807.

Vin Martin, Honorary Consul General

The function featured a guest speaker, a cultural program and a historical display designed to remind the audience of the legacy of the slave trade to the socio-economic and cultural realities of the Jamaican society.  The theme selected for the occasion was “Thus far have we come”
Greetings were sent by His Excellency the Jamaica Ambassador to the United States, Professor Gordon  Shirley.  This was read by the Honorary Consul for Jamaica in Atlanta. and  Past President and Life Member of the Atlanta Jamaican Association, Vin Martin.  In his message the Ambassador observed that the theme for the occasion, “serves not only to remind us of the past, but speak to the challenges of the present, as well as to inspire us to work diligently in securing our future well-being”.

Professor Verene Shepherd

Professor Verene Shepherd, of the History Department of the University of the West Indies, was the guest speaker.  In introducing her, Rev. Doctor Winston Lawson, Pastor of the host church, referred to the vast array of her publications in the field of history.  He paid tribute to her  energy and drive in the pursuit of historical research.        

Dr. Shepherd is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and of the University of Cambridge from which she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.  She is currently the President of the Caribbean Association of Historians and chairperson of the Jamaica National Trust.

Professor Shepherd made what the audience considered an excellent
presentation on the social and cultural progress of the Jamaican people from serfdom to freedom and the attainment of nationhood. She skillfully blended these advances with a brief review of the political strides we have made  since the abolition of slavery. At the end, she was given a standing ovation.

Drummers - (Astley Leslie, TrevorSmith, Ranny Williams (standing), Trevor Plummer)

In her address, she noted that the abolition of the slave trade was not brought about “solely as a result of British humanitarianism” but also partly by the anti-slavery activities of our ancestors.  The present state of liberation, she said, came about by small incremental steps. Now, we have arrived at the stage where post-independence regimes have been able, with confidence, to work hard to reverse the representation of our ancestors as criminals, and install them as heroes and heroines. A visit to National Heroes Park in Kingston will reveal monuments to Marcus Garvey, Nanny, Sam Sharp, Bogle, Gordon, Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante, not Columbus, Wilberforce or Queen Victoria.  However, she was at pains to point out  that the leaders of the anti-slavery  struggle in Jamaica could not have made the impact they had on the plantocracy  and imperial power, without the help of many who have remained unsung heroes and heroines.  She gave detained examples of the fate suffered. by a sample of them, and noted that the Jamaica National Heritage Trust,. in response to calls for their recognition, has begun the construction of  “war memorials” or freedom monuments to the unsung heroes and heroines of the liberation struggles.  “THUS FAR HAVE WE COME” concluded Professor Shepherd – in the words of the theme for the event.     The program was followed by a reception consisting of an authentic Jamaican fare.