12th of July Movement holds lecture on emancipation and the persistence of slavery

The 12th of July Movement will host a lecture by the Rev Dr William Watty entitled “Emancipation and the Persistence of Slavery – A Caribbean Predicament” on Thursday, November 19, at the University of the West Indies Open Campus on Elmshall Road, Roseau, at 7.00pm. All members of the public are welcome.

“We are delighted to be hosting this lecture by Dr Watty,” said Alwin Bully of the 12th of July Movement. “It is a privilege that Dr Watty will be discussing this important subject and we urge that everyone who is interested in our history and some of the forces that have made us what we are, to come.”+

Dr Watty is a distinguished clergyman with a long career as Methodist Minister, scholar and teacher, in the wider Caribbean, the UK and Dominica. Educated at Portsmouth Government School and the Dominica Grammar School, his theological studies took him to Jamaica where he graduated from the Union theological Seminary in 1959 with the BD of the London University. In 1972 he was awarded the MA degree in Theology by the University of Birmingham and, in 2010, by the University of the West Indies, the PhD in Theology. He was the editor of The Caribbean Journal of Religious Studies (1979-85), is the author of many books and booklets, including “From Short to Shore – Soundings in Caribbean Theology” (1981) and is a contributor to scholarly Journals.

Following pastoral work in the Virgin Islands and Trinidad, and a period as a Tutor at Kingsmead College, Selly Oak in England, he became Senior Methodist Tutor and Lecturer in Old Testament Language and Literature at the United Theological College of the West Indies in Jamaica and then President of the College (1976-85). This was followed by Superintendency of the two Circuits of the Methodist Church in Trinidad (1985-92), during which period he also served as Chairman and General Superintendent of the South Caribbean District of the Methodist Church, from which he was appointed President of the Conference of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, before returning to his homeland, Dominica, as Superintendent Minister (1997-2002), where he retired. Rev Dr Watty continues his service as an active Supernumerary of the Methodist Church in Dominica. He was awarded the Sisserou Award of Honour in 2000. Married to Ms Cisne Watty (nee John) of Trinidad, they reside in Portsmouth. They have two daughters, Ms Nathalie Brower who lives in Picard, Portsmouth and Ms. Lenore Watty, who lives in Antigua.

Casey Defoe is a young member of the 12th of July Movement, and grand-nephew of Rev. Watty, is looking forward to the lecture. He says: “I think it is important to revisit our history so we can have a clearer understanding of the causes, reactions and solutions to our socio-economic and political affairs.” He continued: “Emancipation and the persistence of slavery is a topic that will not just show the timeline of our struggles as a people but also the antidote to remedy our afflictions bringing light to abolish mental slavery.”

The 12th of July Movement was created to raise public awareness about the real and potential significance of the Maroons; to reverse the bias inherent in history told from the point of view of external, rather than from our own, interests; and to encourage national pride in this aspect of Dominica’s history especially among the younger generation. Among other aims, it campaigns for

• the inclusion of Maroon history in the school curriculum,
• the recognition of  a national “Maroon Day”;
• the transformation of the Old Market into a national monument of remembrance;
• the location and restoration of all 14 maroon camps in the interior of the island and
• an annual Maroon Conference of scholars in Dominica to explore aspects of maroon life that may inform our own efforts at adapting to climate change.
• The repair, healing and rehabilitative aspects of the Caricom Reparations Movement.

The date, 12 July, marks the death of Jacko, an illustrious and valiant Maroon Chief, who was killed in the last great battle for freedom on 12 July 1814. For further information about the Movement, please go to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/the12thofjulymovement

A small contribution to defray the cost of the event will be accepted.