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50 | 50 The Road to Independence - Jamaica and Trinidad

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Independence for Jamaica, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Florida International University (FIU) Libraries Special Collections and the Digital Library of the Caribbean has designed a special exhibit: 50 | 50 The Road to Independence - Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago which also celebrates Black History Month.

The event will feature a conversation about the ‘Journey to Independence’ to be held next Tuesday, February 28, starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Green Library, Room 220, (South Campus) located at 11200 SW Eighth Street, Miami. Featured speakers will include FIU Professor Percy Hintzen, and Erica Williams Connell, the daughter of former Caribbean statesman Eric Williams who led Trinidad to its independence. FIU Professor Dr. Donna Weir-Soley will also read poetry commenting on the need for independence by the Hon. Louise Bennett, OM, OJ, Jamaica’s cultural icon, folklorist, writer and educator.

The event is co-sponsored by the FIU African and African Diaspora Studies Program and the FIU Latin American and Caribbean Center, with supporting material from the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Consulate General of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies Fifty/Fifty Project.

The exhibition traces the road from the West Indian Federation to independent nations of Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago through politics, art and culture.

Items of special note in the exhibit include the Gleaner newspaper from September 20, 1961, which published the results of the Referendum to decide if Jamaica remained a part of the Federation; and original art from the first Jamaican post-Independence exhibition. Also, there will be a series of Trinidadian pamphlets from the University of Florida Latin American Collection.

The exhibition continues throughout the month of February. For more information, please call 305-348-3008.

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