Minister of Culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange

led a solemn ceremony in Kingston on Saturday (May 23) as she commemorated the

188th anniversary of the death of National Hero Sam Sharpe.

The ceremony, organised by the Jamaica

Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), was held at Sharpe shrine at the

National Heroes Park and saw Grange giving brief remarks while laying a floral

tribute.

“The absolute and decisive rejection of slavery by the Rt. Excellent Samuel Sharpe led to the kind of society we have today, where our citizens must be properly rewarded for their labour. That was a pivotal moment in Jamaica’s history and we salute Sam Sharpe and those who fought alongside him in that uprising. In taking the stance he did, he was not only liberating Jamaica but the entire region. We remain eternally grateful for his acts of selflessness and bravery,” she remarked.

Sam Sharpe, a Baptist preacher born in St

James, led the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in Jamaica, which broke the back of chattel

slavery in Jamaica and eventually led to the abolition of slavery and the emancipation

of slaves in Jamaica and the wider Western Hemisphere.