On Sunday, September 26, 1830, exactly 180 years ago, St. Martiners were shot down in the streets of Marigot, according to the diarist Joseph Richardson.
Richardson retrieved the historic event from government archives while he was secretary of the Mairie in Marigot from 1896 to 1949.
"Through his diary entry, we know that on September 26, 1830, a number of Blacks made a heroic push for freedom from the unholy slave system," said cultural activist Shujah Reiph.
In the book National Symbols of St. Martin we read further that the protesters in the streets of Marigot were met by "the armed might of plantation owners, colonial officials, and soldiers." The event became known as "The Revolt and Massacre of 1830."
St. Martiners were massacred where they stood and a number of our ancestors escaped, according to the National Symbols, which drew from Richardson’s account.
Conscious Lyrics will host a two-hour special this weekend to mark the 180th anniversary of the Marigot massacre on a radio station.
Special guests on this weekend radio magazine will include Alex Richards, history instructor at the University of St. Martin, Daniella Jeffry, author, Lasana M. Sekou, poet/author, and Marie Richardson, educator.
"The panel of educators and cultural activists will give more details and analyze what the 1830 event means for the people of our island. They will also compare the freedom struggle in the wider Caribbean at that time, and how it has evolved up to now," said Reiph, who is also the host/producer of Conscious Lyrics.