Emancipation Jubilee returns to Seville to reignite African spirit
Published:Saturday | July 30, 2022 | 12:08 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
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After being staged virtually for the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emancipation Jubilee returns to the Seville Heritage Park in St Ann on Sunday, July 31, with special guest performers from Nigeria as part of the Jamaica 60...
After being staged virtually for the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emancipation Jubilee returns to the Seville Heritage Park in St Ann on Sunday, July 31, with special guest performers from Nigeria as part of the Jamaica 60 celebrations.
To be held under the theme ‘Reigniting the African Spirit’, the return of the show is being celebrated with stakeholders noting that it represents an important aspect of the island’s culture.
Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks, who has been integral to the Emancipation Jubilee since its inception in 1997, said its absence from Seville for the past two years was regrettable.
“For many people, certain events are the high point of their year, and so they would miss that,” she said. “The Emancipation vigil is a marker of who we are and, if we don’t put it down, then who is going to know?”
Blackwood-Meeks argued that Emancipation Jubilee remains relevant as it serves as a reminder of who Jamaicans are, what is important, and who has cleared the path so that citizens can now consider themselves to be beneficiaries of that kind of legacy.
For her, the return of the event to Seville represents the opportunity to, once again, share space in a celebratory atmosphere.
According to Blackwood-Meeks: “I am looking forward to the up close and personal. I am looking forward to the camaraderie. I am looking forward to how the scene will unfold because the theme is ‘Reigniting the African Spirit’,” she said.
“There is a huge Nigerian troupe that is coming to perform, so I’m looking forward to that. I think this is the first time Marcia Griffiths is going to be at Emancipation Vigil, so I’m looking forward to what she will bring to it,” added the award-winning writer, actress, storyteller, and cultural activist.
Nicolette Jackson, leader of the St Mary-based Islington Cultural Group that specialises in the Dinki Mini dance, is also looking forward to this year’s staging.
“It has been two years, we are expecting persons to be excited about the dance and, when we do our dance on stage, we always try to engage the crowd, and it’s always a good performance,” Jackson pointed out. “I’m expecting to reignite the whole tradition of having the various cultural dances being expressed in one place and persons just enjoying themselves.”
Lorna Bailey, director of communications at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, which is staging the event, told The Gleaner that representatives of Nigeria and South Africa will be in attendance.
“Also, there’s a special section to honour Sister Minnie, who was instrumental in repatriating the female skeletal remains that were found on Seville plantation to Ghana in 1998,” Bailey disclosed.
Sister Minnie, whose registered name is Minion Phillips, died in September 2018.
Jamaica Festival Song Competition winner Sacaj and the Gospel Festival winner will join Griffiths, Freddie McGregor, Lubert Levy and several others on the show which will highlight Jamaica’s deep cultural legacy with performances from groups such as Manchioneal, Hertford, Carifolk, Islington, Port Morant Kumina, and Charles Town Maroon.
Blackwood-Meeks, Wesley Scott and Markland ‘Action’ Edwards will be MCs at the show which begins at 8 p.m. Patrons are required to wear masks.