Golden Square

Description:

• Just off the busy streets of main Bridgetown, there lies a memorial to a national hero of Barbados. Born in Trinidad in 1904 to Barbadian parents, Clement Payne inspired workers in both islands to organize themselves and fight for their rights and improved working conditions. In 1937 his mass meetings in Barbados, including at this site in Golden Square, drew large crowds, but also peaked the interest of the police force. His deportation from the island in 1937 was a catalyst for riots, which lasted four days. A government commission later found that his assessment of the state of workers' conditions was correct. In the small park is a bust of Clement Payne, and a memorial to those who died in the riots in 1937. -Marsilyn Browne
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