A Formative Period in Vincentian History-1969 to 1984

TODAY’S ARTICLE WAS informed by a number of things; today’s funeral service for Renwick Rose; Justin Robinson’s article “Upful was the Word: How 1979 found a ten -year-old on a patio.” The Mighty Sparrow’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”, and the anniversary of the death of Walter Rodney on June 13.

Justin ended his article “… you do not get to choose the year that forms you. 1979 did not happen to me, it happened around me and I happened to be listening.” 1979 was indeed a significant one for Justin who was then only 10 years. In SVG, of significance, were the eruption of the volcano, elections in December, and an uprising in Union Island, followed by the declaration of a State of Emergency. I remember during the State of Emergency when Barbadian police/soldiers were invited to SVG. I was one Friday night with a few friends at a bar at Kearton Hill in Barrouallie, when someone shouted, ‘Barbados Police’. The crowd in the bar suddenly disappeared, a few jumping over a bank. I sat still and realised that the Bajan police/soldiers had only come to get a drink.

After a few days they realised that on mainland St. Vincent there was no issue despite the police being placed at the radio station and telephone/telegraph offices. 1979 was indeed significant with the ‘Upful’ party contesting the general elections. Before this there were protests led by Yulimo, Unions, organisations and individuals about the government’s approach to Independence, shutting out the voices of many who were trying to make a contribution to the drafting of the Constitution that was to shape the country as it moved into Independence.

But the significance of 1979 stretched beyond SVG. The Mighty Sparrow’s classic ‘“WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE- the rule of the tyrants decline The Year 1979, From Uganda to Nicaragua …”.

But we have to go beyond this, the years 1968 to 1979 were formative ones, especially for the young people of SVG, and Justin would have grown to consciousness at the end of that period. I start with the Sir George Williams University Riots of 1969 in which some Vincentian students were involved. The nation, not yet independent, woke up. It was a period of the Black Power Movement in the U.S which shaped the years of the 1960s and 1970s. It was a period when ideas contended as different groups grappled with the ideas of racial justice and the struggle for Independence was well and truly on. What would be the vision of those who were leading the countries into Independence? The New World Movement based at the University of the West Indies and involved academics like Lloyd Best, George Beckford, Norman Girvan, Clive Thomas, writer George Lamming and others, debated options for young Caribbean nations as they tried to move away from their colonial status. A number of groups which were influenced by what was happening elsewhere were formed.

The Education Forum of the People (EFP) emerged in SVG, followed by Black conscious organisations and the Yulimo group which turned to a Socialist path.

But even before this, in December 1964 was the formation of the Kingstown Study Group that produced a quarterly magazine called FLAMBEAU, “named after the torch that lit our ancestral way in those benighted days of slavery”. The Flambeau organisation which lasted from 1965- 1968 set about dissecting Vincentian society. The banning of Guyanese Walter Rodney from Jamaica where he was a lecturer at the Mona Campus sparked anger in the Caribbean. Rodney had made a presentation on the political situation in Jamaica at a Black Writers Conference in Montreal, Canada. Protests started by students at the University and were taken over by UrbanYouths and the unemployed with whom Rodney had been grounding. This set a spark for the rest of the region and led to the emergence of a number of groups spreading the idea of black consciousness. Renwick Rose was central to the formation of Black Conscious Groups since 1972. The influence of Ralph Gonsalves led after some years to some of these individuals and groups, includingYulimo moving in a Socialist direction. But the Black Consciousness focus remained strong with the identification of Black liberation and the struggle to get Nelson Mandela released from prison. I remember sharing a platform with Renwick at Heritage Square in February, 1990 when Mandela was eventually released from prison.

Caribbean leaders had difficulty dealing with the tide of black consciousness. Persons associated with the movement were banned from SVG, as were books.

Renwick was still a central figure to the movement.

In June, 1984, a month before General Elections, his harassment by the government of Milton Cato continued. The Vincentian newspaper of June, 1984 in one of its editions related the story.

“About 18 armed policemen were involved last Sunday in a search for arms and ammunition on the premises of Renwick Rose, a leader of the United Peoples’ Movement and Editor of the Party Organ, JUSTICE. According to a release issued by the UPM the police party was armed with ‘sophisticated weapons’. Some of the raiding lawmen who were dressed in what the release described as ‘military fatigues’ were placed in positions around Rose’s house; others proceeded with the search which continued for about two hours. Rose’s yard was dug up and his house thoroughly searched. Neither arms nor ammunition were located. Rose was however charged for being in possession of prohibited literature after being detained for approximately two hours.”

We have also to put into the picture the Grenada Revolution of 1979 with which Renwick like others sympathised. Renwick’s contribution continued however, largely through lectures, writings and groundings, to be part of the movement for change and the development of the political consciousness of Vincentians. That journey has ended, but he had helped to shape the minds of hundreds of Vincentians, to whom there will be no turning back!

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian