New book launched at Peace Mo

Noting that too many young people see education as means to fill their pocket books and not their minds, Oscar Allen has made a plea for young people to pursue education to be more conscious.{{more}}

Allen, who gave an overview of the book “Slavery, Law and Society in the British Windward Islands (1763-1823)”, by the late Dr Bernard Marshall last Tuesday at the Peace Memorial Hall, said that too many people have been led astray as to what it means to educated.

The well known community activist emphasized that no longer do people see the attainment of education as a means of “pursuing an understanding of who they are,” but this was however the goal of the late author, Dr Bernard Marshall.

Allen said that Dr Marshall, who was one of the first persons from this country to get a doctorate in history, knew that when education was pursued, “we unveiled ourselves to ourselves.”

He commended Dr Marshall, who passed away seven months ago, for writing about the sociology, the jurisprudence and religion of the 1763-1823 time period, which he described as timely, as the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade was being commemorated.

Allen also revealed that the book “Slavery, Law and Society in the British Windward Islands” (1763-1823) fills a gap in the documentation of slavery studies.

Also noting that the publication by Dr Marshall fills a gap was Resident Tutor of the University of the West Indies, Dr Adrian Fraser. He pointed out that much of the information about this country and the Windward Islands during the slavery period, which is not readily available in libraries, can now be found in the book.

Dr Fraser said that the late Dr Marshall, who was also a lawyer, came from a family which made a meaningful impact, and left his mark in the society. Similar sentiments were sounded by members of the audience who shared their views during the open forum after the overview of the book.

Cultural presentations were made by Nzimbu and his cultural group while books were handed over to the Community College Library, History students of the St Vincent Grammar School, The Kingstown Public Library and libraries at the Clare Valley Primary, Richland Park Primary and the UWI School of Continuing Studies.