Patterson centre to launch library

THE P.J. Patterson Centre for African-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies will officially launch its library on May 25 in celebration of African Liberation Day.

Statesman-in-residence at the centre, former Prime Minister Patterson made the announcement Wednesday during the official receipt of a donation to the centre of nine boxes of African historical books from distinguished Jamaican historian Dr Franklin Knight, professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University.

The books comprise six volumes each of the Dictionary of the Caribbean and AfroLatin Americium Biography, Encyclopedia of African History and Culture, UNESCO General History of Africa, and the Encyclopedia of AfricanAmerican History and Culture.

Noting that the Caribbean has played a leading role in the fight for the decolonisation of Africa, Patterson said African Liberation Day is a necessary reminder of the struggle for liberation from slavery, colonialism, and imperialism.

“The legacy of exploitation and persistent poverty is a large part of the continued disadvantages of that experience and colonial rule which still are hindering the social and economic development of Africa and the global African Diaspora,” Patterson said.

He also said that access to information was a vital part of the advocacy to which the centre is committed.

“It is our firm belief that the democratisation of information can be a powerful impulse and serve as a catalyst for social and economic development, and an important part of our mission is to become a repository of knowledge about the Caribbean and Africa and technical processes and commitments which are required forthe sustainable development of countries,” Patterson said.

Noting that t he centre is indebted to Knight for his gift, Patterson appealed to other scholars to donate historical books to the centre.

Knight, in his recorded remarks, underscored the importance of nurturing beneficial reciprocity.

Further, he said the centre would provide a healthy awareness of Africa.

“I think the centre will strive to redress the lamentable history of the pathetic ignorance, deplorable denigration that has characterised much of the history relating to Africa and the Caribbean,” he added.