Barbados has said death to British colonialism and become a republic this week, naming Rihanna a “national hero” at the official fuck-Lizzy ceremony.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley bestowed the billionaire Barbadian musician with the honour of National Hero of Barbados at a ceremony in the capital of Bridgetown to mark the transition from one queen to another.
In Mottley’s speech she said, “May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honour to your nation by your works, by your actions.”
She praised the artist for “the imagination of the world through the pursuit of excellence with her creativity, her discipline, and above all else, her extraordinary commitment to the land of her birth”.
She is only the 11th Barbadian out of a population of 300,000 to receive the honour. It comes three years after she was named as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for promoting education, tourism and investment.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in the small city of Saint Michael in Barbados and grew up in Bridgetown before moving to the United States at 16.
The street she grew up on has been renamed Rihanna Drive.
Long may she reign – now please give us an album.
Barbados finally a republic
Barbados is the first country to boot Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state in almost 30 years, but it will remain within the Commonwealth of 54 countries.
It declared independence from Britain 55 years ago and completed the process on Monday to finally break with its colonial past.
The island was one of the earliest ‘slave societies‘, used by the Dutch and British to produce sugar. The sugar trade grew Britain’s wealth and established it as a colonial superpower.
The land was ravaged and its people systematically brutalised and subjected to genocide and unimaginable cruelty for 200 years of the almost 400 years since British ships arrived.
Prince Charles, known racist, called this time the “darkest days of our past” and acknowledged the “appalling atrocity of slavery” the island had suffered in his speech at the ceremony on Monday.
Elizabeth II is still the queen of 15 other countries, including our very own colony.
