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In the lead up to the 60th anniversary of TT Independence, there is a plethora of media discussions and promotions focusing on the significance, achievements of the occasion and history as well as assessing the Independence and nation-building experience.
During one such radio talk show, the 1970 Revolution inevitably came up. Different views assessing that significant development varied between describing it as a dark period and a negative in the Independence journey. Some even equating it with the July 27, 1990, attempted coup. One host, however, said that 1970 must be seen as a positive experience of our young independent country because it brought about several positive changes, significantly the creation of employment opportunities denied many young, educated people who had been excluded from the banks and other institutions because of persisting racial discrimination. This piece is an attempt to put 1970 in perspective; what led up to it just 8 years after the heady atmosphere of anticipation as Independence approached, what was the nature and significance of 1970 and its influence on the nation-building project. There are now several articles, books like POWER - Interviews 1970 T&T Part 1 Edited by Chike Pilgrim and video presentations like ’70 Remembering a Revolution (https://youtu.be/MMSdiCluRME) describing the atmosphere and events of 1970 including analyses published on the occasions of the 20th and 50th anniversaries of the ’70 Revolution. Several cultural shows and performances, like Rawle Gibbons De Roaring 70s, various calypsos and other expressions of the visual and performing arts also record that important period, including exhibitions by the National Trust at Nelson Island and records of the National Archives. (View Valentino’s music video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n75Pki_loZ4). The Turbulent 60’s The economy of the country had become heavily dependent on the oil industry heading into the 1960’s. “The oil industry … became the main factor in the country’s GDP and exports (up to 80% of foreign exchange earnings by 1960-61). “Economic growth of 8-10% per annum in the 6 years leading to 1961 declined to 1% in 1962 as world oil prices plunged”[1]. So, the advent of Independence the economy experienced difficulties as oil prices slumped in 1962 and other sectors were not creating jobs or foreign exchange earnings as projected. “The workers and their unions were fighting battles to save jobs as employment in oil fell by 3% between 1965 and 1969. Automation in sugar led to retrenchment and in other sectors job cuts were the order of the day. In June 1968, 10,000 workers joined in a March of Resistance. TIWU led the challenge against the ISA with strikes at Sissons Paints in 1967 and in public transport in June 1968 and the May 1969 Bus strike. The disaffected among the unemployed and the intelligentsia at UWI were also in action. Some lecturers were challenging the thinking and policies of the Government. The university students engaged in protests on 26 February 1969 in support of 11 Trinidadian students arrested at Sir George Williams University in Canada”[2]. “On March 18, 1965, Government released the report of the Mbanefo Commission which was set up in 1963 to investigate what government and some ‘conservative’ trade unionists called ‘subversive political activity’ in the trade union movement. In just 48 hours, 18-20 March 1965, the Industrial Stabilisation Act was passed in Parliament and assented to by the Governor General. This law was principally aimed at restricting the workers right to strike. It banned strikes in ‘essential services’ – electricity, fire, health, water and sanitation. It introduced compulsory arbitration at the Ministry of Labour and in the Industrial Court. Williams himself later declared that the ISA was aimed against “the subversive elements in the society.” and that the “background was an open attempt to link the trade unions in oil and sugar”[3] (Eric Williams, Inward Hunger, p 311) “All these currents fed into what erupted on 26 February as the 1970 Revolution led by NJAC which was formed that night by students, youth, workers and their unions. In 1970, mainly young persons, disillusioned with the persistence of the colonial construct, sought to address social inequality, foreign domination of the economy, racial inequality and poor political representation”[4]. Other authors have analysed the 1970 Revolution and point to the same factors as contributing to the explosion of dissatisfaction and discontent and compared the ’70 Revolution to the 1937 Butler Riots[5]. The Revo and the Response The 1970 Revolution was the second attempt by segments of the population to intervene and give definition to the nation-building project. The first was the work of Pegasus and its creation and preparation of its Project Independence plan for nation-building between 1962 and 1967. Not accidentally, the same man was to play a leading role in the founding of the organisations that led both attempts as people’s definition of the nation-building project – Pegasus and NJAC. “The shouts of ‘Power to the People’ and sound of marching feet filled the air. The clarion call “Indians and Africans, Unite!” urging unity of the People, was inscribed on the banner. The youth re-examined history seeking a better understanding and appreciation of the society and its people and to define project independence anew. The response of the ‘independence’ state was a mixture of ignoring ideas for a new development approach, offering a minimum of concessions, State of Emergency, imprisonment of leaders and brutal repression including the attempted dreaded Public Order Bill. Like the colonial authorities’ response to the Butler Riots, the approach to the 1970 Revo was ‘Smiles and Blood’ – token concessions and severe repression. Against those who dared resort to arms, the answer was blood and steel. Against the adherence of the youth to revolutionary ideas of change, a new element was introduced to the society - the mass culture of illicit drugs. A series of “Woodstock” events became an outlet for promoting narcotic drug use”[6]. Some of the deepening problems of violent criminality and social decay that we face today can be traced back to the very responses of the state and the controllers of economic and political power to the people’s intervention in the 1970 Revolution. 1970, therefore, is not a dark day for our Independence. It was part of the birth pangs of our newly independent country and society seeking to chart its way on the path of nation-building as a sovereign people taking charge of their own destiny. Clyde Weatherhead Citizen and Advocate for Democratic Renewal of our Society and Governance 27 August 2022 Project Independence: After 56 Years is available here - https://www.amazon.com/Project-Independence-After-56-Years/dp/1094638048 [1] Weatherhead, Clyde, Project Independence: After 56Years, 2019, pp 24,26 [2] Ibid, pp 44 -45 [3] Ibid, pp 42-43 [4] Ibid, p 45 [5] Chike Pilgrim, Susan Craig-James, Taylor, Fiona-Ann, Two Twentieth Century Upheavals in Trinidad: the 1937 Labour Riots and the 1970 Black Power Uprising, a Comparative Analysis. Diss. The University of the West Indies, 2002. [6] Weatherhead, Clyde, Project Independence: After 56Years, 2019, pp 46-47 For those of us who were there in those days, whether young or old, involved in the major events of the time or just touched by their atmosphere or influence, there was no escaping the engulfing mood of expectancy and hope that pervaded the entire society.
As on other moments of historical importance, once you were alive on August 31, 1962, you remember where you were at one minute past midnight that night of August 30 past the ringing of the midnight bell at the Anglican cathedral just across the road from the Red House when the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and the Red, White and Black of our newly Independent nation was hoisted. “With all the symbols of a newly-independent country – national flag, coat of arms and anthem, the streets of Port of Spain adorned with decorations and bunting and the singing of ‘nation-building’ songs, ‘our nation was born’. [1] This was the culmination of a journey and conflagration of circumstances, global and local. We were part of the phenomenon of the dismantling of Empires and the massive decolonisation movement of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. This was all largely influenced by ‘ten days that shook the world’ with the Russian Revolution. “The successes of Indian Independence (1947), the Chinese Revolution (1949), defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu in Viet Nam (1955), the convening of the Bandung Conference (1955) involving 29 newly independent Asian and African countries, the Cuban Revolution (1959), establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement (1961) – all of these provided more encouragement for countries seeking Independence and accelerated the demise of the British and other European Empires. The emergence of Cold War and superpower rivalry for world hegemony was also a factor in the context of the situation as August 31, 1962 approached. It was a complex historical moment, with both positive and negative aspects. [2] Internally, there was a period we may call the Struggle For Independence – 1937-1962. This period began with the anti-colonial uprising popularly known as the Butler Riots. “It was both an economic and political battle which challenged the very foundations of the colonial imposition of the British Empire. Inscribed on its banner were 2 vital slogans – Let Those Who Labour Hold the Reins and the demand for Home Rule (the call for self-determination)[3]. Here are some of the mileposts:
On a wider scale, there was a popular literary and debating resurgence building upon the literary advances of the 1930s and 40s from the 1950s and into Independence in 1962 “with writers like Ralph de Boissiere, Samuel Selvon, V.S. Naipaul, Michael Anthony and Earl Lovelace. Errol Hill campaigned for a national theatre and Beryl McBurnie opened the Little Carib Theatre. The literary and debating clubs also enjoyed a revival and resurgence in this period. As Roy Mitchell put it, “There were literary and debating clubs. They were used by young people with ambition to debate serious issues. Youth went all over the country by bus to debates” “In 1962-64, they operated as debating clubs and youth movements”. Among the debating clubs were Molton Hall Literary and Debating Club in Port of Spain. In San Juan/Barataria, there were clubs like Barawan, Arawaks and Saturn, led by Hugh Eastman and John Scott. There were the San Juan Youth Movement and the Progressive Youth Movement, also in San Juan. They were led by Ramesh Deosaran and Kissoon Birsingh. Politics was organised at the level of the youth arms of various political movements. The Trinidad Labour Party had its youth arm and Nello Mitchell was its president for several years. The POPPG, the Caribbean Socialist Party (CSP), and Liberal Party also had their youth arms. New newspapers and pamphlets published by individuals like George Bowrin and Walter Annamuntudo, provide a further avenue for popular literature and expression among the population. The 1950’s also saw the emergence of public political education in the form of public lectures by Dr. Eric Williams, CLR James and others. Public debating among leading figures on national issues also commanded public attention, like the famous Eric Williams-Dom Basil Mathews debate on education. It is out of this wave of literary endeavour in all its breadth and as its continuation, that being connected with the Literary and Cultural Club coincidentally named Beacon, established by Geddes Granger, yet another form of organisation emerged. It was founded in 1962, the year of Independence. Its name was Pegasus.[4] “ “In an interesting column in the Sunday Express, Selwyn Ryan suggested that Geddes Granger (Makandal Daaga) was the real “father” of our system of national awards, because his organisation, Pegasus, took the initiative in honouring outstanding citizens in the 1960’s”.[5] In 1962, Pegasus began honouring cultural and literary and artistic contributors at Independence Day activities which evolved into its Parade of National Heroes and National Hero Awards in 1967. The first awardees were Arthur McShine, founder of the ‘Penny Bank’ and Captain Arthur Cipriani, Leader of the Trinidad Workingman’s Association and the Trinidad Labour Party. From the start celebrating our Independence has been a celebration of the struggles that we have waged, as a people, for our freedom from the clutches of colonial Crown Colony domination and those who have contributed in various fields of activity to the achievements of our country’s embarking on the road of self-determination and the flourishing of a new cultural identity and the possibility of forging the national personality. Clyde Weatherhead Citizen and Advocate for Democratic Renewal of our Society and Governance 18 August 2022 [1] “Weatherhead, Clyde, Project Independence: After 56 Years, 2019 ISBN9781094638041, p. 33 [2] Ibid, pp 15-16 [3] Ibid, pp 12-13 [4] Weatherhead, Clyde, Pegasus and the Making of Project Independence, 2020, ISBN9798647268457, pp 8-10 [5] Brereton, Bridget, History Matters – Selected Newspaper Columns, 2011-2021, 2022, ISBN9789768244475, p 5 Trinidad and Tobago is completing six decades of its Independence experience.
This is the anniversary of transition from crown colony of a European power to an independent small island state seeking to advance its nation-building project. Marking 60 years “affords the opportunity to look back on and evaluate six decades of its journey towards the aspirations that filled the hearts of its citizens that night when the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and a sovereign people took up the challenge of charting their own course”[1]. This is also the 60th anniversary of a non-governmental, non-partisan organisation called PEGASUS which was founded in the very year of Independence with the goal of infusing the ‘inner spirit’ in our Independence. 1962 marked the beginning of two very different approaches to the defining of the nation-building project as well as its implementation. One, exemplified by the method of Government-decided Five-year Development Plans spanning either side of Independence, (1958-62, 1964-68 and 1969-73). The First and Third Plans were authored by the solo effort of the Head of Government. While the Second did include a process of consultation, “the overall direction of policy remained with the Prime Minister”[2]. After the abandonment of this 5-year planning approach, in the much later Vision 2020 plan, there was widespread involvement in the initial analysis and planning phases, but implementation remained the province of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The other, exemplified in the work, over 5 years, of Pegasus and the development of its Project Independence - a People’s blueprint for the nation-building project. The Pegasus method was of citizen initiative and participation at all points of the planning, implementation and evaluation processes. In 1962, PEGASUS was created and built by Geddes Granger (later Makandal Daaga) with the assistance of Barbara Blenman (Secretary at Queen’s Hall), Winslow Johnson and Donald Mark. As told by Roy Mitchell who played a leading role in the organisation, “One day after a meeting Granger told me, we all going in different directions. There is a wealth of views and perspectives, etc then nothing. It is time we lift our own thinking beyond this. We are not following up with works. Let us form an organisation doing things to benefit the whole society...” ”Granger came up with the name.” Mitchell describes PEGASUS as “an attempt to give direction to nation-building” and “an inspiration, a movement, a spirit from which great things would have been expected for Trinidad and Tobago”. The vision was that just as the Greeks drew courage, inspiration and strength from the winged horse, Trinbagonians would also be inspired and emboldened by this broad-based organisation bearing its name. At the same time, another force, claiming the Right to Rule and occupying positions of power vacated by the colonial operators of Crown Colony governance was pursuing its own version of the future of Independence as “responsible” government. The contest between these two opposing tendencies persisted throughout the entire life of PEGASUS[3]. This contest between these different approaches, described by some as top-down vs bottom-up , continues today as we seek to advance our nation-building project in the conditions of the 21st century and beyond this 60th anniversary. In the difficult circumstances of all manner of challenge to our nation-building project, the words of Pegasus in the introduction of Project Independence remind us of truths and values that are vital if we are to meet the present challenges and guarantee our very future. “…there must be a deeper understanding by the entire population of the present state of the nation, and a greater interest in its possible future course. No less essential is the inculcation of a sense of urgency, of duty, of service and of sacrifice. “The welfare of all must never be sacrificed on the altar of individualism and sectionalism. But this is bound to continue as a national problem if the absence of National Purpose in the life of the nation is not immediately corrected. “National purpose must precede and influence sectional interests and this alone will lead to resolute endeavour on the part of all individuals and groups to work for the general welfare, development and happiness of the whole nation of Trinidad and Tobago.”[4] Perhaps, a new citizens initiative, the Pegasus of this time, is once again needed to infuse the ‘inner spirit’ in our Independence which the patriots envisioned in the efforts of Pegasus begun in 1962. Clyde Weatherhead Citizen and Advocate for Democratic Renewal of our Society and Governance 11 August 2022 [1] Weatherhead, Clyde, Pegasus and the Making of Project Independence (2020), p.76 [2] Williams, Eric, Forged From the Love of Liberty (1981), p.xxxvii [3] Weatherhead, Pegasus and the Making of Project Independence pp 12-13 [4] From the preamble of the document Project Independence by Pegasus. |
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