Our shared values are enough to unite us ...and make true emancipation a reality in our Commonwealth of The Bahamas

The journey toward true emancipation

BY ARINTHIA S. KOMOLAFE

The United Kingdom passed an act abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire 180 years ago.  The act effectively ended slavery on August 1, 1834; however, due to the apprenticeship program, full freedom never came until 1838, during which time slave masters were required to teach slaves how to work and survive for themselves.  This period was intended to ensure a smooth transition for the freed slaves allowing them to adapt to a life of independence.  The magnitude of this event explains the fact that Emancipation Day is widely commemorated throughout the Caribbean annually.

 Confronting the shackles on our minds

The phrase “emancipate yourself from mental slavery” was coined by pan-Africanist Marcus Mosiah Garvey and later popularized by Jamaican artist Bob Marley in his rendition of the track “Redemption Song”.  Through his words, Garvey articulates the notion that human beings are responsible for freeing their own minds from mental bondage despite having been physically freed by their oppressors.  Implicitly, his words admonish us to think for ourselves, take stock of our own reality and draw conclusions on how we can best achieve positive, fruitful and productive results.

In today’s society, the media plays a major role in shaping our thought process through music, dance, film, the Internet and other news outlets.  Regrettably, the convenience offered by the media and technology appears to have stifled the exercise of our beautiful and indomitable minds resulting in the average human being unwilling to think for himself or herself.  In the workplace, some have become comfortable and complacent in deferring to their bosses to think on their behalf.  Congregants in religious establishments have in some cases also abdicated their prerogative to think or study to their leaders while the populace seems to be content with the responsibility for government policy and national development being vested solely in our political leaders with little or no input from the people most impacted by the same.

The path to full liberty

The freedom from physical shackles is but a first step towards true emancipation.  Indeed, true emancipation is nothing more than an illusion without the emancipation of our minds; and mental liberty will only come with a paradigm shift in our thinking.  The famous quote that “knowledge is power” holds much message in our quest because the acquisition of knowledge enables us to discern for ourselves and sets us on the path for true emancipation.  Further, love for ourselves and clear understanding of our true calling and purpose in life positions us for a fulfilling destiny and an opportunity to achieve set goals through focus, ambition and determination.

It is true that of all the things that men can acquire in this world, there is no guarantee that they will not lose them at some point in time.  However, knowledge attained stays with one forever and despite life’s ups and downs and the challenges and losses that we may face, the same knowledge that we attained to achieve some lost possessions can be retrieved once more by applying our knowledge through lessons learned in life either formally or informally.  This reality is embodied in the following words of Henry Ford: “If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it.  The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.”

Adopted philosophies and boundaries

The passage of the Abolition of Slavery Act paved the way for our physical freedom, a first step in the process of revealing to us that we were not less than our masters, but that we deserved equality.  Truly, this is one of the major desires of mankind – equality in all that we do.  About 120 years after the abolition of slavery, the journey toward majority rule in The Bahamas commenced.  This journey filled with all of its struggles took several decades but ultimately set the foundation for both political and economic freedom.  This journey continued until the Bahamian people experienced the rebirth of our nation with the attainment of political independence in 1973.  Alas, economic freedom still evades us albeit we continue our voyage as a people towards this goal.

As we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the passage of the aforesaid act, one cannot help but wonder whether we the Bahamian people are enslaved to another’s mind-set.  Garvey had rightly postulated that “the man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind”.  The next chapter of our history must be written with greater participation of every one of us using the gift of our minds to pull ourselves from a dependent society to trailblazing and independent powerhouses.

The positioning of Bahamians

The next era in our existence requires a sense of pride in being a Bahamian.

Entrenched in this pride is appreciating all things Bahamian and understanding that we are capable of ruling ourselves in all forms and on all levels – that we ourselves are the masters and rulers of our own destiny.

The term ‘Bahamians First’ must not only be a proclamation, but also a fact and should be evidenced in our policies and programs without destroying the essence of capitalism.  This is bearing in mind that there is no other place on earth where Bahamians can be kings and queens other than in The Bahamas.  In this sense, we as the people of this land and our leaders must work together to renew the minds and shape the destiny and future of successive generations of Bahamians.

The concessions granted to investors should promote economic development and the empowerment of Bahamians.  As Bahamians begin to stretch their minds and broaden their thinking, the government must roll out the red carpet to accommodate our ideas and dreams.  The government and private sector in partnership will determine the content of our scorecard on economic empowerment over the next 40 years.  The Bahamian people have built these walls with their sweat and tears with minimal ownership thereof; the time to possess has come.

One common purpose

The clarion call to begin the process to free our minds is a general one.  However, while we all must play a part in this metamorphosis, our political leaders must be a driving force of this paradigm shift and new environment.  The government must effectively communicate its plan to advance the economy, working with the private sector and other stakeholders.  Our economic policies and national institutions must be conducive to the average Bahamian progressing and being all that he or she can be.  Then and only then will more Bahamians be able to live the Bahamian Dream.

The major feats accomplished in our existence as a nation have been made possible due to the cooperation and working together of people of diverse races, backgrounds, political affiliations and social status.  Political leaders have also been a part of our past struggles.  Hence, the meeting of minds and unity of purpose is important to drive the emancipation from mental slavery and the achievement of economic empowerment for all Bahamians.  In the final analysis, we share a common purpose for justice, equity, education, security and equal opportunity for our people.  Our shared values are enough to unite us and make true emancipation a reality in our commonwealth.  Happy Emancipation Day!

 

• Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law.  Comments can be directed at commentary@komolafelaw.com.

August 06, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The shareholding society Hubert Ingraham has sought to encourage is a direct link to the progressive aspirations of those who struggled for majority rule... ...This is an inconvenient truth for the doom and gloom crowd, Ingraham’s opponents ...and those who believe that they have a copyright on majority rule

Hubert Ingraham’s Quiet Revolution

Front Porch

“The Bahamas Achieves a Quiet Revolution as Its First Black Government Takes Hold” was the headline of a New York Times story announcing the achievement of majority rule in the Colony of the Bahama Islands in 1967.

The story began: “A quiet revolution has been achieved in these resort islands as a Negro government has taken office this week to end three centuries of white rule.  The impact has been nil on the tourists who have packed Nassau's hotels, but the changeover seems to have touched the heart of every Negro citizen.”

By quiet, it did not mean that the movement for majority rule was quiescent or a laid back struggle.  The word quiet speaks to the nonviolent nature of the fight for the second emancipation in Bahamian history.

In newspaper editorials and columns, from pulpits and on talk radio, we continue to read or hear the trite and factually wrong gibberish masquerading as commentary that The Bahamas has dramatically regressed in relation to the aspirations of majority rule.

This decline meme has variations, but in all versions the sky is falling or getting ready to fall.  This is accompanied by the requisite wailing and gnashing of the teeth by those who have little sense of irony or historical perspective beyond their nose and the morning newspapers.

Doom and gloom

That these prophets of doom and gloom are even able to spin and spew their poorly reasoned viewpoints from the vantage point of a pulpit, a free broadcast media or writing in a newspaper is testament to the legacy of majority rule.

Moreover, those black Bahamians including black women, able to offer such opinions and who enjoy the privilege of an advanced degree and notable professional status might wish to recall that without majority rule little or none of their success would be possible.

Like all great movements, the legacy of majority rule is mixed.  There are noticeable and continuing successes.  In other areas there is much work to be done.  Majority rule was about political, social and economic empowerment.

As noted last week, many of the progressives in the struggle for majority rule appreciated that attaining political power would be relatively easier than wrestling economic power from entrenched interests.

Moreover, surprisingly, the early ambitions of some of these progressives to dismantle the economic monopolies of the Bay Street Boys were thwarted by their more reactionary colleagues in the fight for a majority government.

Yet on the eve of the 45th anniversary of majority rule, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced that his government was nearing the final stages of the dismantling of the near monopolistic control of the port business by a few families.   These families included some of those Bay Street Boys from whom political power had to be wrestled.

Ingraham has added his own chapter to the Quiet Revolution.   He has dismantled many decades of entrenched economic domination in port ownership in New Providence.  He is also transferring some of that wealth and the opportunity for wealth-creation to the Bahamian people.

For some time, Ingraham has been building a shareholding society as a means of broadening and deepening ownership in the economy by Bahamians and especially so by a broader cross section of Bahamians.

During his first term in office the government made 49 percent of the shares of the Bank of The Bahamas available to the Bahamian public.   When the funding for the second Paradise Island Bridge was done it was through the issuance of Treasury Bonds which were made available to the general public.

Good investment

The introduction of cable television provided another opportunity for Bahamians to buy shares that have proven to be a good investment.  Today, Cable Bahamas is fully Bahamian-owned.

When the Bahamians who owned the majority stake in Commonwealth Brewery sought the approval of the Ingraham administration to sell their controlling interests to a foreign company, the approval was conditional.  It was conditional on Heineken, the new owners, making 25 percent of the shares in the company available to the Bahamians.

With the new port on Arawak Cay, Bahamians will have the opportunity to purchase shares in a potentially lucrative venture.   Some of the same white merchant elite who held political power prior to majority rule also controlled many of the country’s lucrative enterprise including the port.   These included families with surnames like Kelly, Symonette and Bethel.

The surnames of those who can now own shares in the Arawak Port Development (APD) will run the gamut from A to Z in the telephone directory.   Members of the Mailboat Association will also own shares in the port development.

Civil servants will be afforded the opportunity to buy shares in APD through salary deductions.  Those who mindlessly claim that little progress continues to be made in the advancement of the aspirations of majority rule may wish to suspend their commentary long enough to purchase some shares.

Perhaps they can also suspend their insipid rhetoric long enough to talk to the thousands of ordinary Bahamians who now own shares in various Bahamian enterprises including cable and banking, and soon at BTC.

The shareholding society Hubert Ingraham has sought to encourage is a direct link to the progressive aspirations of those who struggled for majority rule.  This is an inconvenient truth for the doom and gloom crowd, Ingraham’s opponents, and those who believe that they have a copyright on majority rule.

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www.bahamapundit.com

Jan 24, 2012

thenassauguardian