Cecil wallace whitfield biography of rory gilmore

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Known as the DISSIDENT EIGHT, they subsequently joined forces with moderate members of the disbanded former United Bahamian Party (UBP) to form the Free National Movement in late 1971 after a series of meetings held at the Fox Hill estate of the late Jimmy Shepherd, who was also a member of the Dissident Eight.

Peter Turnquest, FNM MP for East Grand Bahama, added that Sir Cecil was a national hero and a man of principle.

Neko Grant, FNM MP for Central Grand Bahama, said it is important that Bahamians celebrate Sir Cecil, a man who has done so much for the preservation of democracy in the Bahamas.

“He understood the fundamental necessary for educational advancement and student achievement. On Saturday, March 22, FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis will be in Grand Bahama for an all island meeting at 10am at the party’s headquarters.

He noted that many Bahamians might recall the pivotal role Sir Cecil played in safeguarding Bahamian democracy, and the contributions he made in the first majority rule government.

“Sir Cecil was a man with profound love for God, his family and his country,” said former FNM Senator David Thompson, chairman of the FNM Council in Grand Bahama.

“He is one of the founders of the modern democracy of the Bahamas, having helped tremendously in establishing the two party system of government constitutionally in our country.”

This year, the party will kick off celebrations with a Youth Night on Friday, March 21.

And he was a ‘personal mentor’ to each one as an individual. He understood the need for more Bahamian teachers, as well as the critical role of capable teachers in learning and overall national development.”

Mr Thompson noted that during the dedication ceremony of the Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre on January 27, 2012 in New Providence, then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham praised Sir Cecil for being among the generation of great men and women who led the struggle for Majority Rule and equality in the Bahamas.

Mr Ingraham also noted that when Sir Cecil came to believe that some of the ideals of that struggle were not being honoured, he was at the forefront of the formation of a new political party.

Mr Thompson believes that Sir Cecil would be pleased that 47 years after he helped to bring about Majority Rule in 1967, and 43 years after he helped to form the FNM party in 1971, the country he lived, and the party to which he devoted considerable energy, continues to flourish.

As Minister of Education, he spearheaded the establishment of a teacher’s college in San Salvador.

There also will be an FNM Family Fun Day at 1pm for all constituencies.

On Sunday, March 23, a church service will be held at the Pro-Cathedral of Christ the King Anglican Church.

Mr Thompson invited persons throughout the community to join the party as it celebrates Sir Cecil’s life and his contribution to the country. Mr. Foulkes took a special interest in my development as a journalist from day one, and along with the late Sir Etienne Dupuch, the then Publisher and Editor of The Tribune, they established a solid foundation for whatever journalistic skills I possess today.

Beyond my professional development, however, Arthur A.

Foulkes also gave me some very beneficial and sage advice during my involvement in the Black Power Movement in the 1960s that in retrospect I am convinced stopped me from making some life-changing mistakes that could have quite possibly resulted in me having a prison record as part of my personal-life resume.

This was especially true after I left The Tribune in 1965 and joined Mr.

Foulkes at Bahamian Times, the PLP’s newspaper that he and other members of the National Committee for Positive Action (NCPA) — an activist group within the PLP — had established after Mr. Foulkes ran unsuccessfully as a PLP candidate in the November 1962 general election.

Of course, when Mr. Foulkes made the decision to run along with Arthur “Midge” Hanna as the two PLP candidates  in a constituency in the Far East that included Fox Hill, he was fully aware that his was essentially submitting his resignation as  News Editor of The Tribune to Sir Etienne, given the fact that  the two UBP candidates  he and Mr.

Hanna were running against were the late Geoffrey Johnstone and Pierre Dupuch, the youngest son of Sir Etienne.

One of the curious aspects of that particular election that has always bothered me is that with voters  being able to vote for two individuals on the ballot or cast both votes for the same individual – under a voting procedure called “plumper” – Mr.

Hanna was elected as the senior member for that constituency with more than 100 “plumper votes” and Mr. Johnstone became the junior member, winning over Mr. Foulkes by considerably fewer than the 100 “plumper votes” received by Mr. Hanna.

However, losing that election resulted in the establishment of the Bahamian Times, and I don’t think that anyone involved in the struggle for Majority Rule would dispute the fact that the Bahamian Times played a monumental role in the PLP’s victory in the historic January 10, 1967 general election.

It was at Bahamian Times that my activism in the Black Power Movement increased as a result of vexing and openly racist occurrences, to which I was exposed personally under the UBP government or were brought to my attention by persons who were aware of my “by any means necessary” approach to dealing with overt and covert acts or racism.

“As Minister of Works, he made it his business to bring critical infrastructure to the majority of Bahamians. Competing high school groups must reflect on the life and contributions of Sir Cecil to democracy in the Bahamas. At one point after I was involved in a situation that potentially could have had serious legal consequences, Mr.

Foulkes eruditely advised me that rather than get physically involved, I should use my skills as a writer to deal with racist behaviour that made me angry. Some of these persons were Chuck Virgill, Chest Woodside, Oswald Brown and Boxer Minnis (PM Dr. Minnis’ brother) to name a few. It was this sound advice, I am sure, that prevented me from possibly ending up in Fox Hill Prison.

Memories of these bygone years flooded my mind while reading Monte Pratt’s excellent essay on Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, which included the photo that accompanies this article of me on the campaign trail with Sir Cecil in the early 1970s when he was leader of the FNM.

As the founding Editor of the Torch of Freedom, I accompanied Sir Cecil quite often on campaign trips around the Family Islands

Although I was a protege of Arthur A. Foulkes, I was also one of the army of young men under the supervision of Wallace-Whitfield when he was Chairman of the PLP during the campaign leading up to the January 1967 general election, with headquarters upstairs in Dr.

Claudius Walker’s Reinhard Hotel on Baillou Road in Nassau.

As Monte Pratt notes in this excerpt from his essay: “One of the unique qualities of Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, ‘the Politician’ was the fact he always surrounded himself with young Bahamian professionals and potential politicians.

FNM Senator Kwasi Thompson said Sir Cecil’s life serves as inspiration to him and many Bahamians.

Students from various high schools on the island will compete in a step competition.