Features
As Barbados marks 60 years of Independence in 2026, and just a few years after becoming a Republic in 2021, a quiet cultural revolution is unfolding in the voices of ordinary Barbadians.
Barbados is small, 430 square kilometres. Already by the 1650s and 1660s, it was one of the most densely populated places in the Atlantic region. Today in the Americas, only Bermuda and St. Martin have a higher population-to-land ratio.
Jacqueline Devonish comes from a more diverse background. Born in South London to Barbadian parents, she is a mother of four sons. In 2022, she became the UK’s first Black female HM Senior Coroner for Cheshire.
Her portrait has appeared in a new artwork currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery as part of Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture, a year-long installation supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund that features commissions from nine contemporary artists.
Barbados was one of England’s most popular colonies, with a rich economy based on sugar and slavery. Yet it was also the only colony to support the abolition of the slave trade.
Following the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959, U.S. policy toward the new government was antagonistic almost from the start.
Over her 30-year career, Tarka primarily served at Haringey Council, starting as a residential social worker and rising to Director of Adults’ Services before retiring earlier last year.
“Just a few days later, she was rushed to A&E at the QEH with sudden pneumonia. The infection took over, and she went into septic shock. They put her on a ventilator, sedated her and admitted her to the hospital.
Ricardo Eversley was born in London to Barbadian parents and is a highly accomplished and versatile visual communication professional (HND, BA) , excelling in digital innovation, graphic design, consultancy, and mentorship.
Politically, he was a transitional figure, taking the organisation calmly from under the wing of MCC