Reflecting On The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow

This is the weekend of a national holiday in Barbados. January 21 is the birthday of the national hero, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow (1920-1987). So, I'll reflect a little on his contribution to Barbados.

The Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow was the first Prime Minister of Barbados. He was the country's national leader at the time when Barbados successfully gained independence from Great Britain in 1967. 

The era of the 1960s saw the rise of remarkable national leaders throughout this region. They were known for their no-nonsense approach to matters of equality and imperialism. Here is a reported comment from his First Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposal presented in Parliament in 1962: 
  
"I think that we in the West Indies should not be afraid to speak our minds. I think that we in the West Indies should not be looking around for somebody to lead and work out our own political and economic philosophy and I do not think that it pays any West Indian politician to either look too rapidly in the direction of Europe or Asiatic countries for our basic philosophies of life.”     (Barbados Nation, 21 January, 2016)

Check this clip from the Errol Barrow Freedom Fighter (2016) trailer in which a frankly-speaking leader throws down the gauntlet on perceived capitalist exploitation.

                    Errol Barrow: Freedom Fighter Trailer (Credit: Dave Weekes, 2016)

However, much of the credit for this island's social engineering is attributed to his visions, although all political administrations have made a contribution to Barbados' socio-economic development over the last 51 years. This clip from the Barbados Government Information Service captures his contribution to this island state.

Barbados National Heroes Explored - The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow - Episode 2 (Credit: thebgis, 2015)

Known for his outstanding oratorical skills, one of my fave excerpts is his speech given before the United Nations in December 1966 - the month after the first Independence Day was celebrated.

"We shall not involve ourselves in sterile ideological wranglings because we are exponents not of the diplomacy of power, but of the diplomacy of peace and prosperity. We will not regard any great power as necessarily right in a given dispute unless we are convinced of this, yet at the same time we will not view the great powers with perennial suspicion merely on account of their size, their wealth, or their nuclear potential. We will be friends of all, satellites of none.”        (Barbados Nation, 21 January, 2016)

One of the more charismatic of Barbados' national leaders, he has been honoured in song by more than one local artiste. This is one of my faves:  

                Errol Walton Barrow Tribute- Kid Site (Credit: Carson Howard, 2009)

Today, Barbados is at a crossroads - approaching national elections. What will be the vision of the next leadership of this island?