In my column last Sunday, I chided the Government for starting a process about the review of the placement of statues, monuments, and signage in T&T in July 2022 by appointing a Cabinet committee to conduct such a review by the end of 2022 and then dropping the ball.
Interestingly, last Sunday, concurrent with the publication of my column, the Government placed a full-page advertisement on page 4 of the Sunday Guardian inviting comments on the very subject of statues, monuments and signage.
This was the second time in two years that such a call had been made. One does not know the reason for the lethargy on the subject, however, with an election just over the horizon and no deadline date for the submission of comments included in the advertisement, one does not know where this effort will go.
The submissions from the public are requested to address the following:
“1. The removal or retention of specific statues or monuments in public spaces, particularly the Columbus statues.
2. The actions that should be taken with statues or monuments to be removed from their current locations.
3. Suggestions for new statues, monuments, and signage in public spaces.”
The advertisement included a picture of Christopher Columbus and a sign of Picton Street. The challenge to rename Picton Street will have a much lower threshold than any attempt to interfere with the Columbus legacy that was so definitively made a part of our identity by the father of the nation, Dr Eric Williams.
The portrait of Thomas Picton, the Governor of the colony of Trinidad, was taken down inside the National Museum in Cardiff, Wales, on November 3, 2021.
His reputation for brutal punishment while serving first as the Military Governor and then as the Civil Governor of the colony of Trinidad after its capture in 1797 until his resignation in 1803 was frontally exposed in 2021, which led to the removal of the portrait.
In Picton, the committee may find low-hanging fruit. However, with the issue of Columbus, the challenges are enormous. Dr Eric Williams approved the final design of the nation’s coat of arms in 1962, with the symbolism of Columbus being an essential component insofar as the ships of Columbus are celebrated. According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, the description for the coat of arms reads, in part, as follows:
“At the top is the crest—a ship’s wheel in gold in front of a fruited coconut palm. This palm had always been the central figure on the Great Seals of British Colonial Tobago. Beneath the wheel is the wreath, which holds the mantle in place. The Helm is a gold helmet facing front, which represents the Queen.
The devices on the shield are the two hummingbirds. The three gold ships represent the Trinity—the discovery of the islands and the three ships of Columbus; the sea that brought our people together; and the commerce and wealth of our country. The colours of the national flag are displayed on the field.
The supporters are a Scarlet Ibis (the national bird of Trinidad) on the left and a Cocrico (the national bird of Tobago) on the right. Both are shown in their natural colours. The Three Peaks commemorated both Columbus’ decision to name Trinidad after the Blessed Trinity and the three Peaks of the Southern mountain range, called the ‘Three Sisters’ on the horizon.
Inscribed on the motto scroll are the words, ‘Together we aspire; together we achieve,’ which speaks for itself and promotes harmony in diversity for national achievement.”
This will be the biggest challenge for the Cabinet-appointed committee, as any decision to downgrade Columbus and any memorabilia associated with him will involve dismantling the coat of arms and redesigning it to eliminate Columbus. The Keith Rowley Cabinet is unlikely to undo the handiwork of Dr Eric Williams, who celebrated Columbus and his legacy by endorsing his connection to this country for all time.
As regards Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael), any decision to embrace the request to rename Oxford Street after him will involve reviving the memories of 1969/1970 and the decision of Dr Williams and the then PNM Government to ban him from coming to the land of his birth because of the Opposition to his advocacy of Black Power in the United States as a civil rights leader.
It also will revive the role of Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and the UNC in 1996, when the ban that Eric Williams had imposed on Kwame Ture since 1969 was lifted.
Kwame Ture was welcomed back to his homeland by Panday.
Dr Hamid Ghany is Professor of Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI). He was also appointed an Honorary Professor of The UWI upon his retirement in October 2021. He continues his research and publications and also does some teaching at The UWI.