Introduced by Nigel Westmaas
In March 1932, Hubert Critchlow, then General–Secretary of the British Guiana Labour Union, went up to Fyrish Village on the Corentyne to deliver a speech at the Congregational Church on the theme of ‘Jesus and Labour’.
It was a remarkable speech in the local and international context of colonial Guyana.
In the speech Critchlow adopted a comparative assessment of the theory and practice of Christians in so far as the interests of the working people are concerned. In arguing that Christ was a true socialist Critchlow appears to gently chide the church establishment for moving away from the “socialistic” actions in the life and work of Jesus Christ.
Despite his argument that Christ was a ‘socialist’, and the Christian belief which this implied, it did not prevent the famed Guianese labour leader from visiting Soviet Russia later, in November 1932, for the Congress of the International Labour Defence. Critchlow faced opprobrium on his return from sections of the press and public opinion, but he was one of the few Caribbean labour leaders to take such a bold step.
Hubert Critchlow, so long ago in colonial times, bravely offered the kind of strategic hope against poverty that has been lost in the message and agency of current and past governments here in this country.
Here is the speech in full as reported in the Daily Chronicle of April 3, 1932: