Jr. colleges debate slavery: S.J.C. takes top prize
Two hundred years ago, the slave trade was abolished in the Caribbean and to officially commemorate the event, university students participated in an organized debate on the subject. Sponsored by the National Institute of Culture and History, this morning students from St. John’s Junior College, Ecumenical Junior College, and the University of Belize put forward their academic arguments on different aspects of emancipation. According to organiser Rita Mae Hyde, the debate was designed to prompt meaningful discussion about an issue that still affects our lives today.
Rita Mae Hyde, Organiser
“Slavery is very alive. It’s manifested in various institutions, the legacy of slavery lives on, the prejudice, racism all of these things. And so one of the things that we are hoping to do is enlighten people about the significance of this date. The date came by, many people do not even realise that March twenty-fifth was set aside to commemorate this symbolic event in the history of our country and of the entire world, entire humanity. So in light of this discussion, resulting from the debate, we have the students bringing out key, they are brining back certain issues from the past, they are looking at the people that were involved in the whole slave trade, they are looking at what was it that led to the abolition of the slave trade. They are also looking at various things, for example the role of economic institutions, political institutions, the role of the church in slavery, and they are also looking at the various historical and psychological aftermath that still holds today after slavery, after we’ve been emancipated. So like I said, the importance of this is to get the students to participate, for them to actually come together and put in their words and their thoughts on the discourse.”
Judges Dr. Joseph Iyo, Lita Krohn, and Froyla Salam assessed the presentations and in the end the debate team from S.J.C. took top honours … but only by a one point margin. They took home a trophy and a thousand dollar cash prize, while U.B. and Ecumenical each received a trophy for their participation. According to Hyde, NICH will negotiate with local broadcasters to air the event in full on television for the benefit of those who could not attend today’s debate. Other official activities to commemorate the abolition of the slave trade include an exhibition titled “Free Again”, which is scheduled to open in August.
