Caribbean Matters: CARICOM Day and July 4. Meet the founding fathers

In the United States, July Fourth is a federal holiday marking the nation’s independence from England in 1776, even though that “independence” didn’t mean Black folks here were free. Consider how Frederick Douglass felt about the holiday.

This date has a different, much more recent significance in the Caribbean. July 4, 1973, marks the founding of CARICOM—the Caribbean Community and Common Market—with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Trinidad and Tobago. The signatories are heralded in the region as “the founding fathers,” though they bear little or no resemblance to our own from close to 250 years ago.

CARICOM frequently features in this series, but not the story of its founders. July 4, also known as CARICOM Day, is a great time for an introduction. This year, CARICOM Day was celebrated on July 1.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

RELATED STORY: Caribbean Matters: Countering poor U.S. coverage of CARICOM's 50th anniversary meeting

Before I introduce these founding fathers, here’s a brief background on why and how CARICOM was founded, from the group’s website.

The establishment of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was the result of a 15-year effort to fulfill the hope of regional integration which was born with the establishment of the British West Indies Federation in 1958. The West Indies Federation came to an end in 1962 but its end may be regarded as the real beginning of what is now the Caribbean Community.

With the end of the Federation, political leaders in the Caribbean made more serious efforts to strengthen the ties between the islands and mainland by providing for the continuance and strengthening of  the areas of cooperation that existed during the Federation. Further, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago both attained independence in August that year and with it the power to control their own domestic and external affairs.      

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To discuss this concept, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago convened the first Heads of Government Conference in July 1963,  attended by the leaders of Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. At this Conference, the participating leaders of the four(4) Caribbean Countries all spoke clearly of the need for close cooperation with Europe, Africa and Latin America.      

But who is in CARICOM now?

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five  Associate Members. It is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under the age of 30, and from the main ethnic groups of Indigenous Peoples, Africans, Indians, Europeans, Chinese, Portuguese and Javanese. The Community is multi-lingual; with English as the major language complemented by French and Dutch and variations of these, as well as African and Asian expressions.

Stretching from The Bahamas in the north to Suriname and Guyana in South America, CARICOM comprises states that are considered developing countries, and except for Belize, in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America, all Members and Associate Members are island states.

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CARICOM came into being  on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas … The Treaty was later revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy.

CARICOM asks an important question.

By the end of this story, your answer will be “yes,” but it’s understandable if it’s a “no” right now. Almost no Caribbean history is taught in American schools. It is important to at least learn the history of key Caribbean political figures from the past century. While I believe that many of these stories are not taught simply because the protagonists were Black, I think the fact that their political leanings did not always align with those considered “acceptable” here also played a part.

It would be easy to introduce the CARICOM founding fathers simply, painting them as iconic heroic figures in the same way many of our own historical figures have been whitewashed into hero status. I, for one, will never stop teaching about the ones who owned, bought, and sold human beings—like George Washington.

The CARICOM founding fathers are complex, as are all humans; some are revered as well as reviled.

ERROL BARROW, BARBADOS

From Barrow’s biography at the UK’s Our History:

Errol Walton Barrow: The architect of modern Barbados

[Barrow’s] formative years were marked by a keen intellect and a growing awareness of the socio-political realities of his time.

Barrow’s pursuit of higher education took him to Codrington College and later, on a scholarship, to Harrison College in Bridgetown. During these years, the seeds of his political consciousness were sown as he navigated the colonial educational system that was both a gateway to opportunity and a reminder of the island’s subjugation.

The outbreak of World War II saw a young Errol Walton Barrow transitioning from academia to the theatres of war. In 1940, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), becoming one of the few Caribbean individuals to serve in this capacity. His service as a Flight Lieutenant, navigating the hazardous skies over Europe, was not just a battle against the Axis powers but also a fight against the racial prejudices of the era.

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Returning to Barbados in 1949, Barrow found an island on the cusp of change. The socio-economic challenges and the burgeoning nationalist sentiment provided the perfect backdrop for his foray into politics. He joined the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and was elected to the Barbados Parliament in 1951.

Errol Barrow Day is celebrated in Barbados every Jan. 21—his birthday. This very short video from 2023 quickly reminds folks of his story.

Denyce Blackman produced a short tribute film, “Errol Barrow: The Father of Barbadian Independence,” for the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in 2016.

The docudrama “Errol Barrow: Freedom Fighter” also premiered in 2016. It was narrated by former United States Attorney General Eric Holder. Here’s the trailer:

Though the film won international awards, there was also criticism. Barbadian politician David Comissiong lists some of them.

For an in-depth examination of Barrow, read historian Hilbourne A. Watson’s “Errol Walton Barrow and the Postwar Transformation of Barbados: The Late Colonial Period.”

FORBES BURNHAM, GUYANA

Historian Berl Francis profiled Burnham for BlackPast.

Burnham was a descendant of formerly enslaved Africans who were originally brought to what was then British Guiana.  After slavery was abolished in 1834, British planters brought in indentured laborers from India. By the time of Guyanese independence in 1966, the Afro-Guyanese numbered approximately 220,000 of the nation’s 660,000 inhabitants (33%), while the Indo-Guyanese people at about 335,000 were 51% of the total population.  When colonial politics evolved into rivalry between these two groups, Cheddi Jagan would emerge as the leader of the Indo-Guyanese people while Burnham led the Afro-Guyanese.  British colonial administrators, afraid of the more radical Jagan, made Burnham the Premier of British Guiana during the last years of their rule.

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Within months of taking office, however, Burnham decreed new national security laws, which permitted near unlimited search-and-seizure powers and detention without trial for up to 90 days. Despite much of his socialist rhetoric, he remained closely allied with the United States and Great Britain.

In 1970, however, he abruptly changed direction and promoted Guyana’s alliance with Cuba, the Soviet Union, and other communist nations.  On February 23, 1970 he declared Guyana a “co-operative republic,” nationalized all foreign-controlled major industries, and banned all imports into the nation.  For the next 15 years Burnham led Guyana as a dictator supported by his People’s National Party.

Here is short video from Black Facts about Burnham, from the "Caribbean Revolutionaries" series.

This winter, Rutgers University Press published sociologist Linden F. Lewis’ “Forbes Burnham: The Life and Times of the Comrade Leader.”

From Rutgers:

Drawing from historical archives as well as new interviews with the people who knew Burnham best, sociologist Linden F. Lewis examines how his dictatorial tendencies coexisted with his progressive convictions. Forbes Burnham is a compelling study of the nature of postcolonial leadership and its pitfalls.

American University’s Dr. Randy Persaud offers a balanced critique of the book.

MICHAEL MANLEY, JAMAICA

This biography of Manley comes from the National Library of Jamaica:

In September 1943, Manley left Jamaica to study at McGill University in Canada but two weeks later volunteered to join the Royal Canadian Air Force.  After his service in the Air Force Manley returned to Jamaica and had his first introduction to journalism as a sub-editor with the Public Opinion newspaper. It was during his student years in London that Manley became actively involved in politics, having started as a student organizer and founding member of the West Indies Students’ Union.  In 1952 Manley returned to Jamaica as Associate Editor of the Public Opinion, where he had worked before.  It was at this time that he was formally introduced to the local political sphere when he was elected to the National Executive Council of the People’s National Party (PNP), which was founded by his father.

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In 1970, Michael Manley took over the leadership of the PNP when he was elected to that position, following his father’s resignation. In 1972 after reorganizing the PNP and embarking on an election campaign marked by the slogan, “Better Must Come”, Manley led the PNP to victory at the polls. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on March 2, 1972 . In the middle of his first four-year term, Mr. Manley’s Government declared that its ideological platform would become Democratic Socialism. This political shift led to the introduction of such social and economic reforms as the Minimum Wage Law, compulsory recognition of labour unions, maternity leave for women, the Children’s Act (Bastard Act) which granted equal status to children born to unwed as well as married parents.  Free secondary education was also introduced.  The Jamaica Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL) and the Basic School Development Programmes were other initiatives of the new socialist Government.

Carib Nation TV produced this 30-minute tribute, “Michael Manley Remembered,” in 2021.

“The Word is Love,” a feature-length documentary about Manley, was produced in 2011. Here’s a 10-minute clip.

DR. ERIC WILLIAMS, TRINIDAD

Historian Melissa Turner wrote Williams’ biography for BlackPast.

Historian, educator, and politician Eric Eustace Williams was born in 1911 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, to working class parents. His family’s struggles to survive economically introduced Williams to the brutal social and racial hierarchy of the British colony. As an adult, he gave up a faculty position at Howard University to return to his homeland, eventually becoming its prime minister.

Williams’ childhood coincided with the development of a nascent black working-class consciousness as figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out against institutionalized racism and imperialism and offered radical solutions. He studied at Queen’s Royal College in Port-of-Spain before winning a scholarship to study in England at Oxford University where he earned a BA with honors in history in 1935. Three years later, he earned his PhD there, also with honors. During this period of international tension just before the outbreak of World War II, Williams experienced racism in Britain and Europe. His doctoral thesis, The Economic Aspects of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and West Indian Slavery, argued against the notion that humanitarian and moral concerns gave rise to the abolitionist movement in Europe. Rather, Williams claimed economic and strategic concerns were at the heart of abolitionism in Britain and elsewhere. A similar argument was espoused by C.L.R. James whose seminal work, The Black Jacobins, was published that same year and influenced Williams’ thinking.

TTT Live Online produced this 8-minute tribute to Williams.

Required reading for anyone exploring the history of the Caribbean is—or should be—Williams’ “Capitalism and Slavery,” which is now in its third edition.

Slavery helped finance the Industrial Revolution in England. Plantation owners, shipbuilders, and merchants connected with the slave trade accumulated vast fortunes that established banks and heavy industry in Europe and expanded the reach of capitalism worldwide. Eric Williams advanced these powerful ideas in Capitalism and Slavery, published in 1944. Years ahead of its time, his profound critique became the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development.

Before closing, I want to highlight Williams’ role in outlining the economic future of the Caribbean when he was a young political science professor at Howard University.

About Williams’ monumental conference:

In 1943, Williams organized "The Economic Future of the Caribbean'' conference, which brought together an international group of scholars, diplomats, and the top leaders of the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission to Howard University to discuss the important issues of the region. This conference led to Williams' appointment as a consultant to the Commission. The Commission was founded in 1942 to oversee the impact of World War II on the Caribbean, and improve the economic and social conditions of the region. The conference proceedings were published as The Economic Future of the Caribbean, edited by Eric Williams and E. Franklin Frazier.

It’s covered in this Derrice Deane CaribNation interview with Africana Studies professor Dr. Tony Martin and Erica Williams Connell—Williams’ daughter.

I’d love to know if this history was new to you, and if not, where you learned it. Join me in the comments to discuss further, and for our weekly Caribbean News Roundup. Campaign Action