Guyanese Online

Reflections on Walter Rodney 36 years after his Assassination

Dr. David Hinds

By Dr. David Hinds

I am writing this column on my way from in Haiti, where I attended the 41^st annual Caribbean Studies Association conference. For six days more than a thousand scholars from all parts of the world of different generations who study and teach about the Caribbean engaged in scholarly exchanges about our region. It is always uplifting to be part of any meeting of our Caribbean family, but it was especially uplifting this year because we were meeting in Haiti.

Despite its persistent tribulations, there is something special and magical about that country—its people, its landscape and its rhythms. The very fact that it was the vanguard of Black and Caribbean freedom puts Haiti at the center of our survivalist and freedom trajectory. As Angela Davis, whose rich and insightful address to the conference, asserted ”whatever little freedom we enjoy today we owe it to the Haitian people.”

Read more: Reflections on Walter Rodney 36 years after his Assasination – By Dr David Hinds