Black politicians

in Jamaica between

Emancipation

and World War I

How many Jamaicans can you name who lived between 1865 and 1920? Not counting National Heroes!

Who can you name?

1. When did Black Jamaicans first get the right to vote?

2. Who was the first Black member of the House of Assembly, and when?

3. Who was the first Black member of the Legislative Council, and when?

4. Who was the first woman member of a Jamaican national Legislature, and when?

Some other questions:

Constitutional stages I

Old Representative System – 1664-1865

From 1831 the franchise was open to all free adult males on the same terms.

David Lee, one of 2 Blacks elected to Kingston Common Council 1835

Samuel Clarke, member of the St David’s Vestry (10 members, 9Black); executed at Morant Bay1865

Early Black Politiciansin the Vestries

Many Blacks served on Parish Vestries between 1834 and 1865:

Edward Vickars died 1867; first Black member of the Assembly, for St. Catherine, 1847-60; Alderman of Kingston; JP. Slogan: ‘Vote for Vickarsthe Black Man’Charles Price died 1865; member of the Assembly 1849-63

Early Black Politiciansin the Assembly

Sources:

Dr Swithin Wilmot, UWI‘Baptist Missionaries and Jamaican Politics’ ACH Conference 1980‘Growth of Black Political Activity’, Garvey: His Work and Impact, 1988‘The Old Order Changeth’, Before and after 1865, 1998‘Politics at the “grassroots” in free Jamaica’, WorkingSlavery, Pricing Freedom, 2002‘From Bondage to Political Office’, Jamaica in Slavery and Freedom, 2002

Prof. Gad Heuman, Warwick UniversityBetween Black and White, 1981

Crown Colony Government – 1866-1944

Constitutional stages II

1884: new constitutional arrangement set up a partially elected Legislative Council

William Kelly Smith

Born c 1820Died 1901 in Kingston

Journalist; teacher; political activistin 1865; imprisoned at Morant Bay in 1865; spokesman for Blacks inKingston; devout Anglican; many unsuccessful attempts to obtainelection to Kingston Council andLegislative Council.

Thomas Harry

Born 1821Died 1903 in Kingston

Dr Archippus Harry, son ofThomas Harry

Black shoemaker; member of PortRoyal vestry; speaker at Kingstonmeeting May 1865; imprisoned atMorant Bay October 1865; on Kingston City Council 1885-91.

Matthew Joseph

Born a slave in St Andrew in 1831 Died 1901, St Andrew

Teacher; poet; member St Andrew Parochial Board 1888-1901; witness before Royal Commissions in 1866 and 1897.Many other teachers were on

Parochial Boards.

Joseph Milward Gordon

Born 1853 in St CatherineDied 1893

Pen-keeper; engineer; Freemason;elected top of the poll to St. Cath-erine Parochial Board 1885 (1st election under modified Crown Colony Government); 1891 Chair-man of St Catherine P B.

Hailed as ‘the outstanding representative of the Black population, and the most significant Black politician of his generation.’

Alexander Dixon

Born 1852 in KingstonDied 1917 in Kingston

MLC St Elizabeth 1899-1904

1899 - First Black member of the Leg. Co.; member of Kingston CityCouncil 1912-17; a founder of the National Club, 1909.

Josiah Smicle

Born in Clarendon (date notknown)Died 1900 in St Thomas

MLC St Thomas 1900

Josiah Smicle or maybeone of his sons

Anglican catechist and school-teacher; member of ParochialBoards of St Andrew and StThomas from early 1890s; Chairman of St ThomasP B; 2nd Black member of theLegislative Council.

Joseph Robert Love

Born 1835/8 in Nassau, BahamasDied 1914 in Kingston

Ordained in Episcopalian Church in 1877; qualified as Doctor, Buffalo, 1880; in Haiti 1881-90; founded Jamaica Advocate - ran1894-1905; People’s Convention 1898-1903; member of St AndrewP B until his death.MLC for St Andrew

1906-11

Charles Phillip Lazarus

Born 1836 in KingstonDied 1917 in KingstonLeft school at 12; became leading iron foundry operatorin Kingston; member of theCity Council (1899-?); JP 1916;supporter of Robert Love’s campaigns; contractor whobuilt Devon House for GeorgeStiebel.

H Percival ‘Pap(p)a’ Jones

Born c 1871 in St MaryDied 1922 in Pt MariaOwner of Hotel Manning; cricketer – captain of the Middlesex Cricket Club ;member of the St MaryParochial Board (1909-?);famous for his resemblance to King Edward VII

Jacob Wareham*

Born (date unknown)Died 1912 in Kingston

Horse dealer and race horse ownerfrom 1880s;

J J and J B Edwards

Born 1865, Ulster Spring, TrelawnyDied 1944 in Westmoreland

Dr James JosiahEdwards

Qualified as doctor Toronto, Edinburgh and Glasgow by 1891; member of St Catherine P B, as washis brother, J B Edwards; both supported Dr Robert

Love in his political campaigns.

David Aurelius Corinaldi

MLC for ‘Noble’ St James1890-1920

Born 1834 in Montego BayDied 1920 in St James

known as the ‘Father of the House’

Trained as a jeweller; started anewspaper the ‘19th Century’ inMontego Bay in the late 1880s, later renamed the ‘New Century’;

Alfred Augustus Fleming

Born 1862 in St CatherineDied 1927 in St Catherine

1888 solicitor in Spanish Town;MLC for St Catherine 1911-20;prominent citizen of Spanish Town, involved in all kinds of local activities.

Other Black Members of the

Legislative Council

‘JAGS’ MLCClarendon

1917 - 1942

Fred R Evans, MLCWestmoreland 1911-1930

William Buchanan, MLCHanover, 1910-11

Daniel L Briscoe

Born 1879 probably in Stewart Town, TrelawnyDied (not known)

Secretary of Artisans’ and Labourers’ Union in Pt Limon, Costa Rica; highly regarded in theJamaican community. Possibly returned to Kingston and active in Friendly Societies in 1920s and ’30s.

R M Stimpson

Born 1868 in ManchesterDied 1936 in Kingston

1898 Qualified as a doctor in Canada; served in Cuba with USArmy – 1st Black doctor to serve with a White regiment; completedtraining in Scotland in 1902; worked in Jamaica until his death;on Manchester P.B. 1909-12; in

1934 he was considering standing for Leg. Co.

David Jonathan Phillips

Born 1869 in St Ann’s BayDied 1935 in Kingston

Qualified as a doctor in Montreal,Canada, and London, England(1902); won the seat on the Kingston City Council which became vacant on the death of

Alexander Dixon in 1917, and held it until 1924; President of the Lucas Cricket Club;Vice-chairman of the Kingston School Boarduntil his death

1926

Amos Shackleford

Born 1887, Charlestown, Portland (Maroon town)Died 1954, Accra, Ghana

Went to West Africa in 1913, and became a very prosperousbusiness man in Nigeria and the Gold Coast; involved with founding the Nigerian NationalDemocratic Party – Pres. 1946-54;

member ofLagos Town Council 1929-36.

E. Ethelred Brown

Born 1885, Falmouth, Trelawny Died 1956, New YorkUnitarian minister; founding member and long-time secretary Jamaica Progressive League; major supporter and fund-raiser for PNP.

Catherine Hart McKenzie

Died 1903, burned to death during the hurricane inAugust.Studied at Shortwood; marriedJames McKenzie, had sons wholater attended Tuskegee; active inRobert Love’s People’s Convention;gave talk on ‘Woman’s Rights’ at 1901 Convention; secretary of thePan-African Association in Kingston in 1901.

James McKenzie, Catherine’s husband;He died Dec 31, 1912

First women elected

Mary Morris-Knibb

Iris Collins

1939 1st woman elected to a local government council, Kingston

1944 1st woman elected to the national Legislature – House of Representatives for a seat in St James

POSTSCRIPT:

The End

Researched by Dr Joy Lumsden© 2006

the worthy frog

Black politicians in Jamaica

What can you do?

1. Read books, and look for web sites.2. Talk to your parents and grandparents

about things members of your family have done.

3. Find out what people from your church, school and community did a hundred years ago.

4. Go and have a look at the old newspapers at the NLJ, and UWI library; find out how to access the Gleaner archives online.