Dear Editor,
January 10, 1967 set the horizon for a long arc of freedom for the Bahamian people. It was a segment of Bahamian history where our founders fought the Battle of Jericho (and the walls came tumbling down).
"Thenceforward and forever free," was the promise made to a nation. A Women's Suffrage Movement was striding side by side this effort, and as feet got weary, together they persevered with a soul heavy with a cause. A time where a young premier dreamed large dreams for all.
A ceremonial mace, that symbolizes authority, hurled out of a window, sending forth a ripple of political wind that focused the nation on the plight and struggles of its people. The Burma Road Riot brought forth buds that bloomed into a political and social awakening that ripened the conscience of men and women.
The General Strike hastened opposition to a regime that denied taxi drivers an opportunity to make an earning. A fierce patriot by the name of Ruby Ann Darling would be inscribed on the register to vote, making her the first woman to register, breaking the back of electoral discrimination against Bahamian women. We dare not forget Ivy Mackey's inked fingers, which symbolized a woman's right to vote.
My generation stands on the balcony of an unfilled promise, waiting for our Black Moses to take us to our promise land. We believe in what The Bahamas can be, although we have never been believed in. Our generation has been politically freed, but remains economically chained to the cotton fields. We have been sold to labour for the creation of another man's wealth. The fruits we bear are being used to build a country where we the people have a limited right to own.
Our founding fathers, the farmers of the modern Bahamas, planted the seeds of our promise so deep, hoping the sun and the rain that comes from their people will bring a harvest to reap. They told our inheritors to equally distribute the harvest to the well-being of the people. No longer can we glance through our window glimpsing the economic pie being divided among the minority, hanging on in hope that some crumbs left will be shared among the majority. Those who believe in economic freedom cannot rest. We can not rest until that freedom comes.
The journey to majority rule remain intact: We shall not stop until the majority has its rightful place at the economic table of brotherhood. The anguish of our journey will be dedicated to mentally reclaiming our country. This economic revolution must mirror the needs of our people. We must inspire ourselves to affirm the importance ownership, placing it in our very minds, hearts and bodies as we struggle to remove any economic inequality. The moral compass will give us a stronger sense of direction on our continuous journey.
Let the promise of Majority Rule be our promise again. Let it be the dream our founding father wanted it out to be. Too many years our people have spent trying to get here to be denied their rightful inheritance. Too many years our people spent educating themselves not to be included in the development of their country. Too many years our people struggled to get here, to get nowhere.
To Sir Lynden Pindling, Cecil Wallace Whitfield, Milo Butler, Arthur Hanna, Clarence A. Bain, Jeffrey M. Thompson, Carlton Francis, Randol Fawkes, Warren Levarity, Dr. Curtis McMillan and Clement Maynard - thanks for telling us that this land is ours by birth and that you toiled through despair to get us here.
For the thousands who've prayed and the hundreds that fought, we say thank you. To those of us who remain behind, our thirst for economic freedom will not be quenched until we fight for what's ours. We are all a part of some great plan to possess our land. We have an unyielding faith in our God-known destiny!
We will continue to tread our journey until the Black Moses in each of us awakens. Father, your children are weary and our tears are silent. Your grace has brought us thus far and your might has kept us. Help us to our horizon.
Our wisdom was harnessed by our forefathers who took initiative. Let us not forget the keys to our freedom, the keys to our promised land. Let us be true to our God and let us be true to our native land.
- Latrae Rahming
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