By Nelson A. King
An ailing Caribbean journalist and
political activist in New York, referred
to as a “freedom fighter”, has added
his voice to a growing chorus of calls
for reparations from European powers
for slavery and the Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade.
“Those of us who fight for reparatory
justice, those of us who dream of
a truly fair society and a just economy,
must never forget those billions of
black and brown people who work
hard each day here and across the
continents, yet are robbed by the ruling
elites of the wealth and value they
have created with their blood, sweat
and tears,” said cancer-stricken, Vincentian
born Don Rojas, in addressing
a fundraiser in his honor, at the House
of Lord Church, downtown Brooklyn,
New York to help defray gigantic medical
bills.
“Yes, indeed, we writers and journalists
have a sacred duty to tell the
inconvenient truths of history to our
people and to the world, and chief
among these inconvenient truths are
the living legacies of enslavement as
manifested in the rapidly growing
social and economic disparities in the
USA, the Caribbean and Latin America,”
added the press secretary for slain
Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice
Bishop, who has been diagnosed with
bone cancer.
“And on an evening when we are
talking about reparations, there is no
denying that slave trading gave birth
to the capitalist mode of production
and that the warped and sick ideas
of white Supremacy were used by the
rising bourgeois classes in Europe and
America, by believers of the so-called
free market, by respected scientists,
politicians, academics, clergymen and
even the monarchy and the nobility
to morally and spiritually justify the
hideous crimes of slavery,” continued
Rojas, the director of communications
and international relations for the New
York-based black group, Institute of
the Black World 21st Century (IBW).
“In America, White supremacy built
an empire based on theft of the lands
and natural resources of the native
Americans and the theft of the collective
labor of enslaved Africans,” he
said.
Rojas said that “the stolen labor
of enslaved Africans remains a debt
America owes to their descendants
and this enormous historical debt
can never be accurately measured in
pounds, dollars or francs.
Guyana Defence Force, the NYPD, and ex-service offi cers, march past the delegation on the tarmac of Brooklyn
Borough Hall to celebrate Guyana’s 53rdIndependence Anniversary. Photo by Tangerine Clarke
Boro Prez thanks Guyanese for their
contribution to New York City
Caribbean Life, M BQ ay 31–June 6, 2019 3
By Tangerine Clarke
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric L.
Adams, during brief remarks at Borough
Hall, on Friday, May 24, thanked
Guyanese for their contribution, which
he said has made Brooklyn, New York, a
great place to live.
“Lets continue to lift, not only the
flag, but the spirit and adoration of
every rich community, as the Guyanese
community has, said the politician, who
joined the diplomatic corps, and expatriates
on the tarmac of Brooklyn Borough
Hall, to salute the Golden Arrowhead
flag that was hoisted atop of the municipal
building, to commemorate the country’s
53rdIndependence Anniversary.
Proudly stating, that he had celebrated
five consecutive Independence
observances with Guyanese, at Borough
Hall, Adams told nationals to continue
to aspire for their country, while here in
the diaspora in America, a place where
Guyanese-born, New York State Senator,
Roxanne Persaud, serves.
He also welcomed Ambassador
Rudolph M. Ten-Pow, Consul General,
Barbara Atherly, Haitian-American,
Assembly Woman, Rodneyse Biochotte,
and Farah Louis, council member elect,
of District 45th, stating, “we don’t only
have the Guyanese spirit here, but the
Haitian spirit with as well.”
Adams also joined the delegation for a
march-past of the Disciplined Services,
that included members of the Guyana
Defence Force, who had arrived from
Guyana, to march with the Guyanese
–American NYPD Officers, ex-Guyana
Police, and ex-GDF. The Victory Music &
Dance Company Brownsville Excellence
Marching Band accompanied them.
The exciting moment came as Emcee
Ervin Washington, counted down, and
Guyanese looked up with pride as the
Golden Arrowhead flag, fluttered in the
air, to loud applause and the words of,
Happy Independence Guyana echoed
across the atmosphere.
Planned with dedication, by Friends
of the Consulate Committee, the celebration
continued in the Rotunda of
Borough Hall, with tributes, and drumming
by Akoyaw Rudder.
Extending greetings to Borough
President, Eric L. Adams, the Caucus of
CARICOM Permanent Representatives
to the United Nations and the members
of the CARICOM Consular Corps,
Ambassador Rudolph M. Ten-Pow, said
53 is an important year for Guyana.
“History may well remember this
year as the year in which Guyana placed
itself firmly on the path to economic
independence, after fifty-three years of
political independence.”
“The road has been difficult, we’ve
made mistakes and suffered setbacks
along the way. Independence is not a
one-time event that happened to us in
1966. Independence is a process — a
long, hard and sometimes a painful
process.”
“As we celebrate our 53rd anniversary,
let us count our blessings, let us
resolve to use all of our natural resources
and all of our people to transform
Guyana together so that, by the grace
of God, when we gather here again next
year to hoist the Golden Arrowhead in
commemoration of the 54thanniversary
of our political independence, we will be
firmly set on the road to economic independence,”
said the diplomat.
“Let us go forward into that bright
future united, as one people, one nation
with one shining destiny.”
Under the theme: Celebrating Unity
and Pride, Consul General, Barbara
Atherly reminded, that “Independence
Day” was not the consequence of a
singular event but, rather, the culmination
of 350 years of fighting the many
struggles of colonial rule, and called
on nationals to continue to pay tribute
to “our ancestors, who struggled and
fought for our liberation. May 26 this a
day that gives us all an equal opportunity
to demonstrate true patriotism.”
“Independence Day celebrates us
as a truly unique, multi-racial, multicultural
and multi-religious state. We
can boast of how well this diversity
translates in Guyana. His Excellency
President David Granger describes our
“national tapestry of variegated threads
–culture, ethnicity and faith”, as being
“stronger because it is weaved from
our separate, but sturdy, strands. It is
more resilient because it represents and
reflects the talents of different groups.”
Farah Louis, city council member
elect, and Rodneyse Biochotte, assembly
member present a citation
to Barbara Atherly, consul general of
Guyana to New York, in observance
of the nation’s 53rd Independence
Anniversary. Photo by Tangerine Clarke
‘Freedom
fighter’
calls for
reparations