Barbados Encourages Locals to Embrace Rich Heritage at Genealogy Marketplace Celebration

Locals are being urged to deepen their understanding of Barbados’ rich history and heritage.

During a media briefing at the annual Genealogy Marketplace, Chief Archivist in the Barbados Archives Department, Ingrid Thompson, called on Barbadians to engage with the country’s historical resources.

“Come into the archives and peruse the documents, analyse the documents, and get to know the true history of Barbados and what a wonderful country we have,” she said.

“We want to bring back that pride in terms of our national identity, who we are as Bajans and what we stand for, what our ancestors went through to bring us to this point, and hope that the current generation and future generations will carry on the traditions and build upon that foundation.”

During Saturday’s event Barbadian culture and heritage was celebrated through food, games and documentaries.

Thompson noted, “We are encouraging persons to start and get to know how to trace their family history.”

She highlighted that this year’s exhibit was dedicated to honouring the legacy of Shirley Chisholm as part of the ongoing celebrations of her 100th birthday on November 30. Centred on showcasing a timeline of her life, her interest in Pan-Africanism, her upbringing in Barbados, and her trailblazing journey in the U.S. Congress.

Chairman of the centennial celebrations Rodney Grant emphasised the significance of familiarising people with her accomplishments. “We felt that it was necessary for us to reintroduce Shirley to Barbadian people since they would not have known her that well,” he explained.

The celebrations have included heritage tours highlighting sites from her upbringing, school visits, and a national art competition offering a trip to New York as a grand prize to explore landmarks associated with her legacy.

Grant emphasised Chisholm’s resilience in the face of adversity. “She would have stood up against all of those challenges and would determine that she would have still run for Congress and then after that vote for the president.” The celebrations will continue on Independence Day, with the distribution of paraphernalia to further acquaint Barbadians with her life and values.

Describing the exhibit in her honour Norma Springer, Assistant Curator said, “What we have tried to do is to create a multimedia interactive exhibition, so there is the general information on the walls that people can interact with, we have some artefacts including a trunk.” Being innovative, they have used some AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to generate an aged progression to show what she would have looked like at 100 years old.

“We also have the Great Debate, which is a takeaway pamphlet that visitors can have a better appreciation of her thought process,” she noted. Works featured include a powerful piece by spoken word poet Cyndi Celeste and Doreen Beatrice Edwards decorated cigar boxes paying homage to Chrisholm who did the same to raise funds.

The event, staged in collaboration with Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), ties into the broader vision of heritage tourism.

Madge Dalrymple, Destination Manager with BTMI, expressed excitement about the initiative. “It is all in a quest to build out the Genealogy Tourism niche,” she explained, adding, “We think that it is very important for persons to know their roots, know where they come from.” She encouraged members of the diaspora to return to the island, noting, “We are excited to be involved in We Gatherin’ next year.” (STT)