The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago is calling for a special tribute to West Indian civil rights activist Kwame Ture.
Born Stokely Carmichael in Trinidad on June 29th, 1941, Kwame Ture was the leader of the ‘Black Nationalism’ movement in the US and the originator of the rally slogan “Black Power.” He was one among several Freedom Writers who travelled through the South in the 1960s. His fight was for racial equity and reparatory justice.
In honour of his legacy, Member of the Board of Directors of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Asha Kambon, is suggesting what they believe is a fitting tribute.
“We spent many, many years calling for the change of the street name on which Kwame Ture was born and lived before he became that amazing icon in North America, and that’s Oxford Street, and we have recommended to the powers that be for many, many, many so many years that I can’t even remember when we began that struggle. We’ve suggested to them that they change the name to Kwame Ture Street in honour of him.”
Dr. Kambon said Kwame Ture’s efforts in his fight for reparatory justice during the times of the civil and Pan-African movements should not be overlooked but commemorated.
“In 1959, Kwame was on a bus leaving Howard University, where he was being educated, to head down to the south to help people register to vote, and he faced jail and so on to do that.”
This year’s Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture Series will feature panel discussions under the theme ‘Shaping Sustainable Futures Through Reparatory Justice.’
“This year the focus will be decolonising the mind, the relevance of Fanon in the modern Caribbean, and that’s important to us because, of course, this is the hundredth birthday anniversary of Franz Fanon, and Franz Fanon is just the most amazing thinker that we had in the movement for decolonisation.”
The lecture series will be held at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) from June 15th.