Golden Square Freedom Park? The Significance Explained
Channel: Bajan Lifestyles
Date: 2022-01-02

Golden Square Freedom Park Opening Ceremony BARBADOS

“Meet me in Golden Square '' This was the language Clement Payne used to inspire his followers, in the lead up to 1937 riots. This was the era of street corner politics and golden square was his stomping ground. The government of Barbados has established this site to commemorate his memory and celebrate his legacy.

In the 1930s Golden Square was considered a depressed working class community in the heart of Bridgetown, this is where National Hero, the Right Excellent Clement Payne, held his most important mass meetings.

His political and social activism got him deported from Barbados on July 26, 1937.  It was from Golden Square that the assembled crowd proceeded into the commercial areas in Bridgetown leaving a trail of damage and destruction.  

Four days of violence in various parts of the island left 14 people dead, 47 wounded, 500 arrested, and millions of dollars in property damage. Historians agree that Barbados was never the same again.

In the early 21st Century, the Ministry of Education and Culture collaborated with the Clement Payne Movement to establish a bust of Clement Payne, a monument to the martyrs, and an amphitheatre in Golden Square.  Over time, the public market was relocated to the area and the amphitheatre was demolished.

In 2020, the former National Insurance Building, the Barbados Fire Service Headquarters, and the temporary public markets were all demolished, making way for the two-acre Golden Square Freedom Park.  It is intended to be “a space of peace and reflection, education, agitation and nation-building”.

Included in the park are the vessels of dreams, Builders of Barbados Wall, a Community Wall “shards of life, and a 1937 Memorial Wall which were unveiled on November 29th 2021.

Inscribed on the Builders of Barbados Wall are the surnames of people who lived here and blocks have been included for those who resided here for over 600 years

Then there is the Community service wall done by the visual artist Oneka Small called shards of life. Her inspiration came from people who live in and around the golden square area, drawing on the resilience of the human spirit and emotions. People like local barbers, shopkeepers, vendors, and those who worked on the golden square project. A reflection of life struggles and the way we overcome them.

The rebellion wall is a composite of Barbadian history.  Pieces that reflect the period of barbadian life during the 1930s, items such as a cutlass, a sword used of for…., pot spoons, cups made out of cans, galvalines still used to this day for roofing and fencing all blended together with an ancient Japanese technique of burning the wood for resilient to  insects and termites. The Rebellion wall with a collaborative effort done by Heshimu Akin yemi, Kwami Hunte, Daniel Alleyne, Ras Akyemi, and Ras Ishi affectionately called a village.

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