BASSETERRE: Federal Cabinet members donned Afro-Caribbean attire Sunday to commemorate History and Heritage Month 2026, while Prime Minister Dr. Terrance M. Drew unveiled plans for a new national holiday honoring the heroes of the 1935 Buckley’s Uprising.
The visual display of cultural pride accompanied a significant policy announcement that will see January 28 designated as an annual national holiday beginning in 2027, marking 92 years since the historic resistance movement.
“In our nation, our memory is our mobilisation,” Prime Minister Drew declared. “We recognise the courage of those who resisted oppression — including the heroes of the Buckley’s Uprising of 28 January 1935, whose struggle will now be honoured each year with a national holiday from 2027.”
The commemoration comes as the Federation deepens its engagement with the CARICOM–Africa partnership, an initiative aimed at strengthening solidarity between African nations, Caribbean states, and the wider diaspora. The partnership framework includes joint pursuit of reparations and reparatory justice across the transcontinental community.
Ambassadors Leon Natta-Nelson and Kenneth Douglas joined Cabinet members for the ceremonial photo, demonstrating unified national commitment to preserving the nation’s African heritage.
“We remember to reclaim dignity, we remember to repair injustice and we remember so that every child born on our shores may inherit a fairer, stronger Saint Kitts and Nevis,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
The Buckley’s Uprising of 1935 represented a pivotal moment in the Federation’s labor and resistance history, when workers demonstrated against oppressive colonial conditions. The new holiday will provide annual opportunity for education and reflection on this watershed moment.
History and Heritage Month serves as a time to honor the resilience and achievements of people of African descent across the Caribbean, with the Federation’s story forming a central part of the global African diaspora’s contributions to world development.