WN O SWALD T. BR T. SWALD O By s a former colony of Great Britain, The Bahamas’ attainment of inde- pendence on July 10, 1973, was Arelatively late when compared to some of its sister islands in the Caribbean that were also British colonies. PLP Council: Shortly after he completed his law studies in England, Lynden Oscar Pindling joined the fledgling Progressive Liberal Party Jamaica, for example, after a failed (PLP). He is pictured with other members of the PLP Council in 1954. From left are Paul Farrington, L.O. Pindling, Urban Knowles, Clement attempt to establish a European Union- Pinder, H.M. Taylor, Cyril Stevenson, William “Bill” Cartwright, and Samuel Carey. / Courtesy photos style West Indian Federation with Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, became an independent country on August 6, 1962; Trinidad and Tobago followed on August 31, 1962; and Barbados severed its colo- main street in downtown Nassau. “Promised Land” and the drumbeat for nial “navel string” from Great Britain on These were the vexing conditions that independence became louder and louder, November 30, 1966. existed in The Bahamas when a young black with Great Britain eventually acceding to the In the case of The Bahamas, with a pop- lawyer, Lynden Oscar Pindling, returned to wishes of the majority of Bahamians on July ulation that’s 75 percent black, there was no the country in 1953 after completing his law 10, 1973. real desire to pursue independence because studies in England. Pindling had been leader of the country The fledgling PLP was in its infancy when THE ROADTHE TO INDEPENDENCE the group of islands stretching like a string since the January 10, 1967, general elec- Pindling became a member later that year of pearls from 90 miles off the coast of Flor- and he quickly established himself as a fu- tion, using the title of Premier, but after ida to about 50 miles off the coast of Cuba ture leader of the political party by champi- independence he became the country’s was controlled by a white minority with close oning the various causes of the black majori- first Prime Minister and was subsequently historical and cultural ties to Great Britain. ty and routinely offering his legal services to Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The push to become independent really poor blacks who could not afford a lawyer. Sir Lynden was Prime Minister of The began in earnest in The Bahamas after the Known locally as “The Bay Street Boys,” Bahamas for 25 years and was succeeded historic political victory of Progressive Lib- members of the governing white minority, Sir Lynden Pindling, The Bahamas’ first Prime eral Party (PLP) in the January 10, 1967 by Hubert Ingraham, who left the PLP to be- who at that point were not officially mem- general election, which resulted in a black come leader of the opposition Free National Minister, led The Bahamas to independence bers of a political party, took notice of the Movement (FNM), and led the FNM to victo- government being elected for the first time threat the PLP posed to their political domi- to govern the affairs of the country. ry in the 1992 general election. nance and established the United Bahamian Ingraham served two five-year terms as But the trek towards black majority rule Party (UBP) to contest the general election Prime Minister before he was ousted after AS: actually began in 1953 when the PLP be- held in1956. The PLP won 33 percent of the came the first organized political party in vote in that election, and Pindling was one the FNM lost the 2002 general election to The Bahamas and immediately began to of six PLPs elected to the House of Assembly. the PLP and Perry Gladstone Christie, leader challenge the unjust, openly racist policies of Pindling continued to distinguish him- of the PLP, became Prime Minister. the group of white merchants and business- self as a powerful force within the PLPs Ingraham returned as Prime Minister men who controlled the affairs of The Ba- hierarchy and eventually became leader after the FNM defeated the PLP in the 2007 hamas as if it were their personal fiefdom. of the PLP at the party’s 1961 convention, general election, Christie bounced back and Recognized at the time internationally with strong support from a group of young led the PLP to a landslide election victory on as “a playground for the rich and famous,” activists in the party who were members of May 7, 2012. The Bahamas’ importance to Great Britain the National Committee for Positive Action became well established in the early 1940s He is the current Prime Minister of Baha- (NCPA). mas, which celebrated its 40th anniversary during World War II when former King Ed- With women voting for the first time in of independence in grand style two weeks ward VIII, who abdicated from the throne in the country in 1962, the PLP was highly op- Hubert Ingraham, who replaced Pindling as AM ago throughout the Commonwealth and in 1936 to marry American socialite Wallace timistic that it would win that election, but al- Prime Minister of The Bahamas in 1992. Simpson, was sent to The Bahamas as its though it received the majority of the votes, countries where it has diplomatic missions. governor. the UBP won the majority of the House of In Washington, D.C, a gala reception, The white minority in the country, of Assembly seats mainly as a result of skillful attended by more than 300 guests, was course, welcomed the “high society” cultural gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries held at the OAS Building and the month- traditions that became entrenched during and questionable election laws that denied long celebration will continue on Saturday, the former king’s governance of The Ba- some blacks the right to vote. August 3, when the Bahamas Embassy in hamas, resulting in the black majority for However, in May 1963 a conference was D.C. will sponsor a two-day Music and Food the most part being treated as second-class convened in London to consider a new con- Festival at One Veterans Place in Silver citizens in their own country. stitution for The Bahamas, resulting in the Spring, Maryland, featuring a Junkanoo Racism was also openly practiced, with islands being granted full internal self-gov- group from The Bahamas as well as the the white minority adopting some of the ernance, with Great Britain retaining control world-renowned Royal Bahamas Police harsh segregation policies that were en- of foreign affairs, defense, and internal se- forced by law at the time in the southern curity. The new constitution came into effect Force Marching Band, live entertainment United States. Indeed, blacks were not al- on January 7, 1964, setting the stage for from The Bahamas and a smorgasbord of lowed in the major hotels in New Providence, the remarkable victory at the polls by the indigenous Bahamian foods. where the capital of Nassau is located, and PLP on January 10, 1967. Oswald T. Brown is the press, cultural were refused admission to a whites-only Pindling, quite naturally, was hailed as affairs and information manager at the Ba- Perry Gladstone Christie, current Prime Minister BAH movie theatre, The Savoy, on Bay Street, the “Moses” who lead black Bahamians to the hamas Embassy in Washington, D.C.WI of The Bahamas. 24 August 1, 2013 - August 7, 2013 The Washington Informer www.washingtoninformer.com.