Discovery Day changed
to National Heroes Day
By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE
Guardian Staff Reporter
The traditional Discovery Day holiday, which commemorates the "rediscovery" of The Bahamas in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, will be officially observed on Monday as National Heroes Day.
And, although the name change has provoked significant controversy, the National Heroes Day Committee, chaired by Father Sebastian Campbell, regards the switch as a major accomplishment, even though there is still much work to be done.
"National Heroes Day has come! It belongs to the people; together we celebrate our heroes on whose shoulders we stand," Father Campbell, a native of Cat Island, said during an address in Rawson Square on Thursday.
"It is with a sense of much pride that we are able to come to this level of celebration," he declared, adding that, "This is the way in order to bring attention to some historical injustices that we have perpetuated as a people and really and truly to educate our children as to who the true heroes of our Bahamas really are."
However, a group known as the Bahamas In Prophecy Association, on Monday expressed its opposition to the government's decision to rename Discovery Day as National Heroes Day.
The group is arguing that since the preamble to the 1973 Constitution pinpoints the coming of Christopher Columbus as the "rebirth of the New World," renaming the day would be "tantamount to changing the wording of the Constitution."
Such a change, the association says, should only be made after the most careful consideration — and a referendum.
The Association's leader Micklyn Seymour said while BIP supports the establishment of a National Heroes Day, it does not believe that National Heroes Day should replace Discovery Day. "History can not be replaced by history," he contended.
The National Heroes Committee has held ceremonies in Rawson Square for the past 12 years.
Originally it was to honour the country's first Bahamian Governor-General, the late Sir Milo B. Butler. Since then, because of the difficulty in convincing the populace and powers of the day to recognize one individual, the committee broadened its strategy to include all heroes, "whose blood, sweat and tears have greased the engine of our national life in every nook and cranny of the nation."
The committee dedicated itself to "rescuing unsung heroes," who many times are "unnoticed, unrecognised and unsung."
In their goal of "sparking the flame of nationalism in the soul of every Bahamian," the group's objectives include:
* A special holiday to celebrate National Heroes.
* The phasing out of British Colonial honours in favour of a Bahamian Honours System.
* A National Heroes Park with life-sized statues of deserving persons.
* A non-partisan system to identify such persons.
* The images of reputable Bahamians on Bahamian currency, and
* The teaching of Afro-Bahamian history in all schools.
"Obviously we still have much work to be done. Now with the National Heroes Celebration in October, when schools are open, we can seize the opportunity to indoctrinate our children in those things that are Bahamian and teach about true role models of integrity whom they can emulate," Father Campbell said.
During Thursday's ceremony, the committee paid tribute to:
* Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, the "Father of the Nation", who was the chief architect of the modern-day Bahamas. Sir Lynden led The Bahamas from a colony to an independent, sovereign nation.
* Sir Milo Butler, the first Bahamian Governor General, and the chief champion for the oppressed who waged war on discrimination against blacks.
* Sir Randol Fawkes, "the Father of Labour", who was among the first to agitate for independence. Sir Randol was credited with having the Labour Day holiday declared.
* Dame Doris Johnson, the first woman to run for Parliament, first woman Senator, first woman Minister in Government and first woman leader of the Senate. Dame Doris' finest hour was as a suffragette in the struggle for the right of women to vote.
Also recognized was Victor Philip King, a former East Street resident, who died on March 14, 1994, after entering a burning building on Fort Fincastle and saving the lives of four children. He was killed after the building collapsed while he was searching for other persons who were believed to have been trapped inside.
A graveside memorial will be held today at 4 p.m. in the Woodlawn Gardens Cemetery in memory of Mr. King, who "so unselfishly gave his life to save others."
