Resilient people, proud heritage: The imperative of economic independence

As we cap our observation of National Heritage Week under the theme ‘Resilient People, Proud Heritage’, we celebrate the extraordinary men and women whose sacrifices shaped our destiny.

Chief among them are our national heroes.

Paul Bogle stood defiantly against injustice; George William Gordon championed good governance and human dignity; Nanny of the Maroons embodied the strategic brilliance and indomitable spirit of resistance; Sam Sharpe demonstrated that the yearning for liberty cannot be extinguished by chains; Marcus Garvey awakened a people to the power of self-belief and economic self-reliance; Norman Manley championed education, discipline, and nation-building, while Sir Alexander Bustamante fought for workers’ rights, justice, and, together with Norman Manley, political independence.