Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson presented a Pan-Africanist mural, honoring 17 liberation warriors to The University of the West Indies in celebration of his 90th birthday. The PJ Patterson Institute contributed the mural, which was displayed in the university’s Cultural Heritage Park and is a replica of Barrington Watson’s The Pan-Africanists. It represents Caribbean heritage, cultural identity, and black tenacity.
Along UWI Mona’s Ring Road, the artwork is located next to 14 ackee trees that were planted by Africans who were held as slaves on the former Hope and Mona farms. It complements an existing memorial dedicated to the ancestors who formerly roamed the present-day campus of the institution.
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Margaret Bernal, the project director of the PJ Patterson Institute, declared, “This is sacred space.” “This mural connects the living trees, the bones unearthed here, and the mission of education and remembrance. It is part of a larger story of where we’ve come from and who we honor.”
Doreen Watson, the artist’s widow, claims that the piece was inspired on the day that she was supposed to meet with US President Lyndon B. Johnson; however, the appointment was canceled because of Dr. King’s murder.
She remarked, “From that moment, he knew he had to create something bold, a statement for Black people everywhere.” She further mentioned, “That’s how The Pan-Africanists came to be. And P.J. Patterson truly loved this piece.”
The original canvas remains owned by the Watson family, but the university received a high-resolution mural reproduction as a legacy gift, which now serves as the first installation in the campus’s planned Cultural Heritage Park.
Sincere thoughts on the occasion and his heritage were provided by Patterson, who respectfully requested that no remarks be made at the 90th birthday celebration. He mentioned that he and Sir Alexander Bustamante, Jamaica’s first prime minister, were both from Cacoon, Hanover, and that they had gone to school together under the guidance of his grandpa, William James.
The former PM remarked, “William James has produced two prime ministers who’ve reached this age.” He then noted, “And when you combine our years of service, we are the two longest-serving prime ministers to date.”
Using the painting as a starting point for future projects, he stated that plans to develop the Cultural Heritage Park had been accepted by the principal and vice-chancellor of the Mona campus.
“Your (friends and family in attendance) presence here symbolizes the unity we need, not just in Jamaica, but across the Caribbean and the developing world,” Patterson added. “I’ve been truly blessed, and for that, I give thanks.”
Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Charles Washington Misick, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and his wife Lorna, former Bahamas Prime Ministers Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham, and Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness were also present at the ceremony.
