Dear Editor,
In this week of the Abolition of the Slave Trade let us remember some of our great leaders who have given so much for us. We are where we are today because we are standing tall on the shoulders of kinfolk like Cuffy of Berbice, Damon of Essequibo and Quamina of Demerara. These brave leaders and their followers have laid their lives down for us. Their blood, sweat and tears were shed for our freedom and the building of this land. Their blood, sweat and tears are intermingled in the soil, the roads and bridges we walk on, the trees and plants that sprout from the ground, the canals that carry the waters for our sustenance, the walls that protect and shelter us. Their spirits are among the trees and their legacies permeate every facet of our well-being, our existence. It is because of them we are. They are us and we are them. They were among the first batch of freedom fighters.
In the second batch advancing the struggle for our equality by initiating the fight for universal adult suffrage, improved working and living conditions, increased wages and the collective bargaining process were Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, Jane Phillips Gay, AA Thorne, Joycelyn Hubbard.
Then there was the third batch, who advanced the struggles for equality by fighting for independence and self-determination. Some are Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Ptolemy Reid, Desmond Hoyte, Hamilton Green, John Carter, Viola Burnham, Shirley Field Ridley, Winslow Carrington, Yvonne Harewood Benn, Cedric Grant, Clarence Ellis, Fred Wills, Rashleigh Jackson, Tyrone Ferguson, Walter Rodney, Haslyn Parris, Harold Davis, Jeffery Thomas, Winifred Gaskin, Felix Austin, Andrew Jackson, Denis Williams, Eusi Kwayana, Clarence Hughes, Rex McKay, Joseph Pollydore, Peter Britton, Aubrey Bishop, Keith Massiah, Vivienne Surrey, Benjamin Gibson, Olga Britton.
Then we have the fourth batch, who are continuing the struggle for our equality and right to self-determination. Some are Lincoln Lewis, Alan Munroe, Robert Corbin, Winston Felix, Andrew Garnett, Leslie Melville, Joycelyn Loncke, Cecelia McAlmont, Vincent Alexander, Patrick Martinborough, Norris Witter, Tacuma Ogunseye, David Granger, Tom Dalgety, Basil Bradshaw, Clifford Reis, ‘King’ Stanford Solomon, Cephus James, Roger Moore, Adeola James, Hazel Halley Burnett, Spicy Dish, Eric Phillips, Barrington Braithwaite, Water Chris, Violet Jean Baptiste, Gerald Perriera, Ronald Waddell, Kean Gibson, Faith Harding.
The list is by no means exhausted, so feel free to add. Add the names and tell the stories. Beat our drums and add the names of the villagers and town folks. Include the contributions of the teachers, nurses, preachers, masons, craftsmen, blacksmiths, cobblers, village leaders, entrepreneurs, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and cousins who have by their struggles, sacrifices, love, selfishness and generosity made lives easier/ better for you and others.
Among our many outstanding sons is the distinguished international scholar Dr Ivan Van Sertima, whose intellect and dedication to putting the history of his race in its true perspective sees him writing numerous articles and books and successfully defending his thesis of the African presence in Ancient America before Columbus. This successful defence was made at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, USA.
Dr Van Sertima was born in Kitty Village, Guyana, South America on January 26, 1935. He was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University where he graduated with honours. From 1957 to 1959, he served as a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the Guyana Information Services. During the decade of the 1960s, he broadcast weekly from Britain to both Africa and the Caribbean. He migrated to the United States in 1970, where he completed his post-graduate studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Dr Van Sertima began his teaching career as an instructor at Rutgers in 1972, and he is now Professor of African studies in the Department of African Studies.
Dr Van Sertima said: “We have come to reclaim the house of history. We are dedicated to the revision of the role of the African in the world’s great civilizations, the contribution of Africa to the achievement of man in the arts and sciences. We shall emphasize what Africa has given to the world, not what it has lost.”
In this month let us remember some more of Africans’ major contributions/ inventions that have helped to make lives easier for all today. Alexander Mills invented the elevator. Richard Spikes invented the automatic gear shift. Elbert R Robinson invented the trolley. Charles Brooks invented the street sweeper. John Love invented the pencil sharpener. William Purvis invented the pen. WA Lovette invented the advanced printing press. William Barry invented postmarking. Phillip Downing invented the mailbox. Joseph Smith invented the lawn-mower. Frederick Jones invented the air conditioner. Alice Parker invented the heating furnace. Walter Sammons invented the comb. Sarah Boone invented the ironing board. Thomas W Steward invented the mop. George T Simon invented the clothes dryer. Lloyd P Ray invented the dustpan.
Let us salute our achievements and contributions to society. Let us salute and honour our heroes. Let us hold our heads high, proud in the sureness of our intellectual nimbleness and worth. Let us use these legacies to arise from our state of hopelessness and despair to that of intensifying the struggles for our equality. According to our hymnal “Let us fight the good fight and finish [our] course.”
Please keep this letter and share these beautiful, awe-inspiring and motivating stories with all and sundry. Use it to “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, [since] none but ourselves can free our minds.” Here’s to another patch in our Redemption Song!
Yours faithfully,
Quacy O. Softleigh
