I was very disappointed and distressed with an article in the Youthlink about the movement towards emancipation in the British colonies.

The teacher, in outlining the political events, used 1772 as the starting date and ended at 1834. She stated that "The Somerset case results in the passage of a law which declares slavery illegal in England" (Youthlink January 20-26, 2009).

However, though this statement is what I was taught in the 1970s at Calabar High School and which is even believed by Caribbean historians, it is not true.

A few years ago, one of the leading Caribbean historians, in giving a lecture at the University of Warwick, made a similar claim at a Walter Rodney Lecture. After the lecture, I told him that was not the case. I also asked Professor Gad Heuman, leading British historian, who was in the audience what he thought of that statement. He said it was incorrect.

Apparently, British people know it is incorrect but Caribbean people do not know that.

Enslaved in England

I read the Mansfield judgment on the 1772 Somerset case and it stated that enslaved persons in England could not be forcibly removed from England. It seemed to be re-inforcing slavery in England.

In 1827, Lord Stowell ruled in the case of the enslaved Grace Jones, who came from Antigua to Britain and then went back to Antigua with her master was not entitled to freedom because she had set foot in England. Indeed, there were enslaved persons in England in the 19th century.

Furthermore, this article in the Youthlink about movement toward emancipation mentioned activities that the British did and nothing that the enslaved did. There was no mention of Sam Sharpe's Baptist War of 1831. This is a retrograde step, considering that from as far back as 1985, Richard Hart published Slaves who abolished Slavery to highlight the role of the enslaved in their emancipation.

And even in the listing of social events, Sam Sharpe's name was not mentioned. This is a major disrespect to our National Hero Sam Sharpe.

I tried to contact the teacher to have a discussion on the article but she was on maternity leave. I do not expect that this information will change anything in the history books or the teaching by history teachers at secondary or tertiary levels. Similarly, the ministry of education has not changed the GSAT weighting scores after seven years of agitation.

The point is not simply about getting the facts correct. It is about giving the impression that Britain was the land of the free in 1772, and that it was a benevolent British people who gave us emancipation without any input from the enslaved.

Not looking to foreigners

Sharpe and the other enslaved persons who resisted slavery should be given most of the credit. If our young people grasp that legacy from our history, then they would not look to foreigners to solve our chronic problems but recognise that God has given us gifts and abilities to help improve ourselves. With God's help, we can make a difference in our oppressive situation.

We continue to shortchange our national heroes. On February 6, someone who was interviewed on TVJ's morning programme claimed that Bob Marley has done more for Jamaica than any national hero.

Thankfully, one of the interviewers, Neville Bell, was not convinced. That a 30-year-old enslaved preacher named Sam Sharpe could organise 60,000 enslaved persons island-wide to strike for wages, which was to become a catalyst toward emancipation, was phenomenal. Marley did not better that.

We need more works on Sharpe and biographies on Paul Bogle and Nanny to highlight their significant contribution to emancipation and our heritage.

Let's empower our CXC students with knowledge about the movement toward emancipation.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: The Church in Nation building'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.