The history of abolitionist and National Hero Mary Prince is to be the focus of a series of events this summer.

Lovitta Foggo, the Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sport, told the House that special tours designed to showcase Mary Prince’s Bermuda had been held and will be extended until next month because of high demand.

Ms Foggo said: “The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs has partnered with Titan Express to offer a historical bus tour providing highlights of Mary Prince’s autobiography, visiting three of the sites that she mentions in her book.

“This tour is running throughout the month of July and as it stands those tours are already sold out, so we have put on four more tours for the month of August.”

Mary Prince, born into slavery in Bermuda, became a figurehead for the abolitionist movement after her autobiography, The History Of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, was published.

The book, printed in Britain in 1831, turned the spotlight on the brutal reality of slavery in Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Ms Foggo said Margot Maddison-MacFadyen would host a public lecture on the story of Mary Prince next Thursday at the Earl Cameron theatre, which will include a dance performance choreographed by Conchita Ming.

She said: “In 2017-18, the department funded a research project by Dr Maddison-MacFadyen on the latter days of Mary Prince, since, as vital as Prince’s story is to our national narrative, we had little information about what happened to our hero following the publication of her book.

“These findings, which have already been shared with a number of schools during education month in February, will now be made known to the public in a lecture by Dr Maddison-MacFadyen.”

Ms Foggo added: “It is my hope that these events will strengthen our understanding of who we are, where we come from, and the strength of the shoulders that we all stand upon.”

• To view the ministerial statement in full, click on the PDF link under “Related Media”