Paul Bogle, courtesy of the Jamaica Historical Society.

The Paul Bogle Memorial seemed to have grown too big for its britches in 2008 when it changed its name to the 'African Slavery and Holocaust Memorial' and marched its way to Atlanta, Georgia.

With its humble beginnings in the heart of St Thomas on a Sunday morning in October 1999, the founders of the Paul Bogle Foundation sought to honour not only our national hero, but those who fought and died in the Morant Bay Rebellion. Although officially listed facts say that 439 were killed directly and 354 were tried and executed, founder Constantine Bogle claims 6,000 of 23,000 St Thomas citizens died in an ensuing retaliation from troops sent by the British Crown. He also claimed, in a speech given to the National Action Network meeting in Atlanta Georgia in December 22, 2007, that "no Bogle male was allowed to get any education in Jamaica until the 1960s because the British ruled that the male Bogles had bad blood" (directly transcribed from the Edofolks website, one of the Foundation's partners in the newly expanded memorial).

Memorial Day

Bogle, who resides in Georgia, elaborated: "What the Paul Bogle Foundation has decided is that since America has a Memorial Day for all the people who fought and died on that day - so do the Jews, for the five million who died in the Holocaust; even the Grand Cayman Islands has one ... while we are still in support, we are a people who have lost three million in slavery, so I think it is important for us as black people to establish a memorial day in memory of our ancestors."

"(Last year) we lit a thousand candles in front of the United Nations at 6 p.m., and in front of Parliament in Atlanta."

While their permit to do the same in Washington, DC, was denied at the time because of the presidential election, it was done later, on November 9 in front of the reflecting pool at the White House. He plans to continue doggedly pursuing his goal of a global vigil, with a million candles lit in every American state, and mass media coverage.

"We're also asking all 53 countries in Africa to light a million candles in their capital to commemorate the biggest tragedy that ever occurred on this Earth," said Bogle. "Bear in mind that fire is cleansing and purity. It is only the power of fire that we can use to bring about spiritual cleansing on this Earth."

According to him, Ohio, Alaska, Hawaii, South Carolina and New York have already written in to join the memorial this year on October 18. "It's now gone beyond Jamaica."