Spiritual Baptist Day- Free At Last!

Next Wednesday, May 21, the government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines will take yet another step along the road to decolonization when, for the first time in our history, we will have a holiday to celebrate Spiritual Baptists Day.

It will truly be a momentous occasion considering the persecution which the followers of that faith have endured at the hands of those who imposed colonisation and their way of life on us. That included determining which religions were “accepted” and thus “legal”, denying the right to worship in the traditions of our ancestors, a fundamental denial of one of the most basic human rights.

A public holiday to mark Spiritual Baptists Day is but one act of atonement for this unacceptable deed committed against our people. It also vindicates our faith and testifies to our resilience. A more deserved holiday could not be imagined, continuing the historic one to recognize March 14 as National Heroes Day. It is also the first religious holiday consciously recognised, contrasting with those decreed in the past under colonialism, holidays not of our free will and choice, but by dint of colonial diktat.

Local historians, especially those involved in writing our own story, in contrast to official “HIStory” have been documenting the grievous injustices meted out to Spiritual Baptists over the years and the persecution and hounding they have had to endure. Regular readers of SEARCHLIGHT over the years would have been enriched by the contributions of one of our columnists, Dr. Adrian Fraser, in this regard. His was a most valuable contribution to the process for which we should all express our gratitude.

The tyrannical attitude of the colonial authorities even forced some adherents of the faith to have to flee to Trinidad to escape local persecution. In addition, the Spiritual Baptists, outlawed as they were, were prevented the space and opportunities afforded to the “recognized religions” to develop their own forms of worship. Many Spiritual Baptists had to take umbrella under other denominations to escape the discrimination. Their children suffered too, for unlike Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Methodists etc. they were denied the opportunity to be educated in schools of their own religious denomination.

On Wednesday they can now shout out those precious words we remember from the martyred Dr Martin Luther King, “FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD WE ARE FREE AT LAST!” Deserved credit must be given to the government led by Dr. Ralph Gonsalves for this bold and deserved proclamation, but we must also remember others who have contributed towards this historic step. The late Hon. Ebeneezer Theodore Joshua; his anti-colonial predecessor George “Daddy Mac” McIntosh; and later adherents, barrister Bayliss Frederick; and former government Minister Parnel “PR” Cambell, both deceased as well, all contributed towards the act of redemption and official recognition.

We should also pay tribute to the members of the Spiritual Baptists who endured the persecution and discrimination over the years, to the leadership, today under Archbishop Pompey and particularly to those brave women in the faith who literally kept the flag flying, in spite of the ridicule of many of our own people, drowned by ignorance. Truly the words included in our own national anthem have been borne out: “OUR FAITH HAS SEEN US THROUGH.