Do you support Jamaica’s plans to remove the British Monarch as head of state?

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“It is time that Jamaica becomes a republic. For us, the process is not simple, and we have known this since we started on this journey, and we are making sure that we check every box as we move deliberately in that regard.” Prime Minister Andrew Holness

For some Jamaicans this is a long time coming. This is not breaking news, but it is interesting; I am curious to see how this will shift the direction of the Caribbean.

As the monarch looks ahead to his coronation in May, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness insists that “Ambitious timelines” are in place to move towards the “Road to republic.” Prime Minister Holness instructed his nation’s government to “Move ahead with speed” in abolishing the country’s constitutional monarchy – he final move in erasing the island nation’s formal connection to Britain, along with the colonialism and racialized past that comes with it.

There has been no formal apology from the monarchy or the British government for the atrocities committed against enslaved people on the island of Jamaica, as well as the Caribbean at large, and the long-term abuses of members of the Windrush Generation. During his visit there last year, Prince William expressed “profound sorrow” for Britain’s history of slavery in the Caribbean, after facing demands from protesters for reparations, but he faced criticism when he failed to apologize on behalf of the monarchy for slavery.

It is for this reason that many see the move to make Jamaica a republic as part of the natural order.

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in late 2022, Jamaica’s haste to become a republic comes at a time when Buckingham Palace is attempting to find footing under a new monarch while battling multiple allegations of racism.

In 2020, the royal family’s silence over the Black Lives Matter movement did not go unnoticed. Many of us are privy to the tell-all interview that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. It was during this interview that they brought to the forefront the topic of racism in the monarchy. Harry spoke strongly to the fact that racism was a large part of why the couple left the UK. One of the claims was that a member of the royal family raised concerns over how dark their son’s skin would be before he was born.

Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II at the time stating that the whole family was saddened to learn how challenging things had been adding, “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

A couple of days later, Prince William said, “We’re very much not a racist family!”

That sounds nice and everything, but there are generations of people who would disagree with his statement, hence this move to remove the British monarchy as the head of state.

Barbados acted as a catalyst when they removed the British monarch as head of state a couple of years ago, and Jamaica will likely become the second Caribbean nation to claim its complete independence from its colonial power. The nation of Belize also signaled its interest in abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic.

Holness added on Twitter: “The goal is to ultimately produce a new Constitution of Jamaica, establishing the Republic of Jamaica and affirming our self-determination and cultural heritage.”

He is quoted by the Jamaican Observer as saying, “There may be the view that it is a straightforward and simple task of just changing the name of the country from that of a constitutional monarchy to a republic – that is not the case. There are many legal steps that we have to go through and there is the matter of a referendum, the outcome of which no one can predict.”

Do you support Jamaica’s plans to remove the British Monarch as head of state?