- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 05/Aug 09:46

Reclaiming space, honouring history: Removing colonial iconography

VEL A LEWIS IN THE vibrant cultural landscape of Trinidad and Tobago, where calypso meets chutney, and mas celebrates liberation, the presence of colonial iconography in our public spaces presents a stark and painful contradiction. Statues of colonial governors, monuments to imperial figures, and place names honouring those who subjugated our ancestors and first peoples still occupy pride of place in the nation. These symbols, relics of oppression, remain embedded in our streetscapes; quietly shaping our collective memory. And hence, as a museum and heritage professional, I have for some time questioned their continued presence and supported calls by the Emancipation Support Committee and others to remove them. It was with pleasure, therefore, that I welcomed the recent announced intention of the Port of Spain City Corporation to remove the statue of Columbus from Independence Square, Port of Spain, and place it under the custodianship of the National Museum and Art Gallery as well as to rename part of Oxford Street, Port of Spain, as Kwame Ture Way. While this may not be the first such move in the necessary act of decolonisation as it relates to the removal of colonial symbols, it presents a great opportunity for us to reckon with the legacies colonial symbols reinforce and to reconsider what values we elevate in our public spaces. Colonial iconography is not neutral. These statues and monuments were erected to honour figures who advanced the goals of empire, often through enslavement, exploitation and violent suppression. In TT, public memorials to British monarchs or colonial administrators reflect a worldview in which our people were subjects, not citizens. They do not celebrate the resilience, innovation, or self-determination of our society, but rather a history that was imposed on us. Keeping such symbols prominently in public view suggests tacit approval or, at best, a refusal to reckon with the injustices they represent. It sends a confusing message to generations growing up in a post-independence nation still grappling with issues of identity, equity, and historical truth. To remove colonial iconography from public spaces is not to erase history – it is to correct the narrative. It is to say that our parks, streets and institutions should reflect the values of our independent nation: unity, cultural diversity, and dignity. I would argue that public monuments (created by our own skilled and experienced artists) should honour our freedom fighters, artists, educators, and ordinary citizens whose contributions have shaped who we are today. Decolonisation is not and should not just be an academic exercise. It ought to be a lived, visible transformation of the world around us. The symbolic act of removing a statue or renaming a street is a powerful declaration that we are claiming/reclaiming our sovereignty not just politically, but culturally and psychologically. It is important to note that the removal of colonial iconography from public spaces does not mean destruction or forgetting. On the contrary, it should open the door to deeper engagement with history, and this is where the role of the National Museum and Art Gallery becomes critical. As the principal custodian of our material culture, the National Museum is the ideal institution to preserve these colonial artefacts, not as objects of reverence, but as tools for enlightenment and reflection. Within a contextualised setting organised by curatorial personnel, statues and relics of our colonial past can be reframed to tell a fuller story: one that includes the suffering caused by imperialism, the resistance of first peoples, and enslaved and indentured peoples, and the eventual triumph of independence and republican status. By relocating colonial iconography to museum spaces, we remove them from the uncritical visibility of public honour and place them into a realm where they can be studied, interrogated, and understood within our historical complexity. It must be emphasised that, far from being acts of hostility, the removal of colonial iconography from public spaces should be seen as steps toward maturity and mutual respect between former colonies and former colonial powers. Many of these countries, including the UK, have themselves begun to reassess the legacy of colonialism and have expressed support for honest reckoning with the past. In this spirit, the thoughtful relocation of colonial monuments to museum settings in TT is not a rejection of history, but an affirmation of sovereignty and truth. Former colonial powers, committed to democratic values and historical accountability, will ultimately welcome such actions as part of a shared journey toward justice, reconciliation, and a more equitable global narrative. In the context of removing colonial iconography from public spaces in TT, it must be stressed that colonial-era buildings and sites should be seen not as monuments to colonial power, but as valuable historical assets that we must continue to safeguard, reinterpret and repurpose in ways that serve our independent nation’s identity and needs. Colonial buildings, such as the so-called “Magnificent Seven” in Port of Spain and the Tobago House of Assembly chambers in Scarborough, built largely by the hands of our skilled ancestors, are physical remnants of a complex past. They should be preserved not to honour colonialism, but to tell the fuller story of how empire shaped the land and its people. These historical buildings and sites can highlight the stories of enslaved Africans, indentured labourers, and first peoples whose lives were often erased in official histories. Their continued existence, under a new narrative, supports the same principle behind removing colonial statues from places of honour: that our public spaces must reflect the values, struggles, and aspirations of an independent, self-defining people. Finally, as TT continues to mature as a nation, we must ask ourselves: Who do we choose to honour? What stories do we want our children to inherit when they walk our streets or visit our parks? What kind of future do we envision when we confront our past honestly? The removal of colonial iconography from the prominence of public spaces is not an act of cultural vandalism, but an act of national healing. It allows us to replace the symbols of domination with those of empowerment, and to ensure that our public spaces reflect the diverse, dynamic, and resilient spirit of our people. Let us honour history by engaging with it meaningfully in our museums and heritage sites where it can inform, educate, and inspire a more just and inclusive future. Vel A Lewis is a heritage consultant, former museum curator, National Trust chairman, and permanent secretary The post Reclaiming space, honouring history: Removing colonial iconography appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.