Roseau, Dominica – July 28, 2008……… A lecture on the contribution of the West Indian scholar and academic, Dr. Eric Williams, to the literature on the abolition of slavery in the English Speaking Caribbean will take place at the Fort Young Hotel at 7pm on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
The lecture forms part of activities for Emancipation celebrations 2008 and will be delivered by Professor Dr. Bridget Brereton of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus, Trinidad and Tobago. She has also served as Deputy Principal and Head of History at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus.
Dr. Eric Williams served uninterrupted as Chief Minister/ Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1956-1981. Dr. Williams earned a Ph. D in History from Oxford University, United Kingdom in 1938. His thesis was entitled: “The Economic Aspect of the Abolition of the West Indian Slave Trade and Slavery”.
Publications of this great West Indian intellectual include:
· Capitalism and Slavery;
· From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969;
· Forged from the Love of Liberty;
· Inward Hunger: the Education of a Prime Minister;
· The Politics of Eric Williams and the People’s National Movement
Members of Cabinet and Permanent Secretaries have been invited to attend the lecture on a 20th century Caribbean political giant.
Emancipation celebrations opened at the Benjamin’s Park in Portsmouth on Saturday, July 26, 2008 with a Reunion Emancipation Concert. The celebrations will end on Sunday, August 10, 2008.
Other activities planned include an Art Exhibition, Golden Drum Awards and Concert, Reunion Bele Festival at Ma Tutu’s Park in Grand Bay, a Caribbean Drumming Festival, an Emancipation Hike and Nature Island Literary Festival and Book Fair.
The 2008 Emancipation celebrations is being organised by the National Cultural Council and the Cultural Division in collaboration with the National Reunion Committee.
