DEVON HOUSE Development Company is currently staging an exhibition titled, 'Jamaica's Black Middle Class of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries'. The exhibit is mounted by the Social History Project, the Department of History and Archaeology, Universtity of the West Indies, Mona, January 17 to 31, 2005 in the Devon House Mansion, Hope Road, St. Andrew.
It represents research work being carried out on the period between the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865) and the end of World War I (1918), and features biographical profiles and photographs of 12 Jamaican individuals who lived in this period.
UNSUNG HEROES
These men and women represent some of Jamaica's 'unsung heroes', who used their talents, skills, hard work and determination to advance their careers, while providing service to their community. Many came from humble backgrounds, from the peasant, artisan and small business class of the society, who believed that they could achieve almost any goal by
seizing opportunities and
applying themselves.
One of the individuals featured in the exhibition is Charles Philip Lazarus, born in 1836, who in 1855 established and operated for the next 60 years a foundry in west Kingston. Lazarus was responsible for the construction of a number of buildings in Kingston, including the famous Devon House Mansion which was owned by George Stiebel in which this exhibition is mounted.
The primary objective of this exhibition is to bring to the public, the achievements and enormous potential of these ordinary Jamaicans, who made their way through tough circumstances, undeterred by setbacks and obstacles. The exhibition should be of interest to educators at all levels, and the general public, as it provides information about individuals and their achievements that are still largely unrecognised.
WIDER JAMAICA
The Social History Project, which was established in 1979 by the then Department of History (now the Department of History and Archaeology), UWI, Mona to encourage the research and dissemination of Jamaica's history in the period following the abolition of slavery, is committed to extending its outreach to the wider Jamaican community. It is with this in mind that it has established its Touring Exhibitions Programme, beginning with the story of 'Jamaica's Black Middle Class of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries'.
The exhibition, which was launched in November 2004 at Liberty Hall in downtown, Kingston, will also be mounted at the Montego Bay Civic Centre, Sam Sharpe Square in February to commemorate Black History Month. Devon House Heritage Site is beginning its observance of Black History Month in late January with the staging of this exhibition from the Social History Project.
The Devon House Mansion will also host exhibitions from the Institute of Jamaica featuring mento music and a Bob Marley exhibition from the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica to celebrate black history Month in February.
