Memorial, cultural activities among plans for Buxton Emancipation programme

Businessman Morris Wilson and his wife Jocelyn have started planning their contributions for this year’s observation of Emancipation week and day in Buxton which will include several cultural presentations.

According to a press release, the highlight of the Wilsons’ Emancipa-tion contributions will be a first anniversary dedication of a monument that was dedicated last year to mark the extra-judicial deaths of about 400 Guyanese during the early 2000s; the co-sponsorship of a symposium to mark the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion and a village-wide ceremony that will feature various cultural presentations.

The first anniversary of the monument’s dedication will be marked by the placing of about 400 plaques bearing the names of the slained persons on the monument; the reciting of the names of the deceased and speeches from distinguished citizens.

A one-day symposium to mark the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion is being co-sponsored by the Wilsons and New York based New Amsterdam group COFONA.

The seminar will examine how experiences from the Berbice rebellion can be used to motivate business and economic ventures among Afro-Guyanese.

Additionally, the Wilsons are in the process of mobilizing and recruiting performers and artists to participate in cultural presentations during the week of activities.