EMANCIPATION CONCERT 2011
ON SUNDAY July 31st, the Zion Moravian Church will once again hold its Emancipation Concert starting at 7.00pm.
Although the old August Monday holiday has now been officially and appropriately renamed Emancipation day, it still seems as if not many of our citizens have grasped the significance of this holiday.
We proudly raise our national flag and celebrate Independence day- and well we should – but without that first small step at Emancipation which first established by law, that our ancestors in 1834 were not property but human beings with the right to be free, none of what we enjoy today would have been possible.
We, as a Moravian community, have taken the initiative to commemorate Emancipation with this annual concert because, well before Emancipation, the Moravians were the first Christian missionaries to come to St. Kitts with the specific objective of ministering to the enslaved people on the island and, in so doing, not only taught them Christianity but tried, with their very limited resources, to teach them to read and write and assist them in times of natural disasters. However, Emancipation is not just for Moravians. It is a time to be remembered by all people of African descent.
Sunday’s concert will be a variety concert under the theme ‘Keep Climbing’. It will feature some of the Spirituals that have become a rich legacy of African-American music but which have also gained world-wide recognition.
A major focus of the programme however, will be the variety of musical instruments played by skillful young local artists. Also on the programme will be miming, dancing, poetry and bits of historical information.
It is our hope that the audience will have an enjoyable evening and will leave feeling inspired to keep climbing.
C.V.Richards
Planning Committee
