Barbadians should fully embrace their African Heritage

This was the view expressed by Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with Responsibility for Culture, as she spoke at a recent prize-giving ceremony at the National Library Service.
The virtual competition, organized by the Prime Minister’s Office’s Division of Culture in collaboration with the National Library Service, aimed to encourage Barbadians of all ages to dress up in their best African attire and hairstyles in honour of Africa Day, which was observed on May 25.

In her brief speech, Monroe-Knight praised the organisers efforts in not only marking Africa Day in a special way, but also thanked them for their strong focus in involving the youth.
“I am most pleased that we had the participation of young persons, because that again was one of the ethos that we were trying to imbue with that notion again of how we are reconstructing and doing things differently. There has to be a [focus] on legacy, and how we transfer to the younger generation.

“How we do it as older persons within the society is important, but we would not have done it well if we are not able to look back and know that our sons and daughters literally understand. So to have a competition in which we talk about best dress, best design and best hair, and for our young people to connect with what that means, is especially important for us.”

Amari Rollock of Charles F Broome Primary won Best Dressed Male, and Teenie Mayers of Alleyne School won Best Hair. Nenita White, a contestant from the general public, was named Best Designer and Best Dressed Female.