The amended National Emblems Act came into operation on 25 February 2025, replacing the three ships associated with Christopher Columbus on the coat of arms with a steelpan. The change made a musical form created by Afro-Trinidadian communities a central state symbol, responding to longstanding criticism of colonial imagery. It is a symbolic revision rather than a material remedy for slavery’s enduring effects, and the public debate also raised questions about consultation and who decides how national memory is represented.
The government’s decision to make 1 August a public holiday took effect in 1985, centring the history of African emancipation in the national calendar. The date had been marked by African-descended...
The government declared 30 March a public holiday in recognition of Spiritual Baptist/Shouter religious freedom. The official account links the faith to Black people of African descent and descendants...
At the close of CARICOM’s 34th Heads of Government meeting in Port of Spain, leaders agreed to establish national reparations committees and a regional CARICOM Reparations Commission. The proposal...
Legal Notice No. 68, dated 18 April 2024, amended the Public Holidays and Festivals Act schedule, replacing “Emancipation Day” with “African Emancipation Day” for the 1 August holiday. The change...
The 1 August 2024 observance used the new statutory name, African Emancipation Day. In its message that day, the Office of the President connected the commemoration to the survival of African culture,...
👉 Steelpan replaces Columbus’s ships on the national coat of arms
Current
25 February 2025
The amended National Emblems Act came into operation on 25 February 2025, replacing the three ships associated with Christopher Columbus on the coat of arms with a steelpan. The change made a...
At the African Emancipation Day gathering in Port of Spain, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a four-point plan linking cultural guardianship, curriculum restoration, economic ties...
