What do we understand when we here the phrase “Building communities?” For one, we think about the physical infrastructure – roads, utilities and communications networks – that connected the various parts of our island home, Dominica. The 2016 theme for Dominica’s History Week asks us to consider how the former slaves who won their freedom in 1838 Emancipation were able to travel all around the island to make a life for themselves. We think of how they connected with the Kalinago communities during and after slavery, and how they were able to navigate business and personal life among the colonial settlers during that period.