Posted June 12th. 2009

This article first appeared in the June 18, 1995 edition of the Caribbean Daylight newspaper

Fifteen years after his assassination, Walter Rodney is still not fully honored in the land of his birth. Although hailed by a large section of the Guyanese population as a brave fighter on the side of the oppressed, both the PPP and the PNC governments have failed to properly bestow upon him a fitting recognition. Indeed the PNC leadership whose hands are stained with Rodney's blood continues to treat him as a non-person. The PPP for its part has characteristically chosen to be opportunist. While the government has set up a Rodney Chair at the University of Guyana, it has been deliberately slow in using its powers to ensure an impartial inquiry into Rodney's murder. Further, despite giving him the highest national award, it has yet to do what most decent governments do for exemplary national heroes: grant a public holiday in his honor.

We are constantly reminded by Rohit Kanhai of Rodney's threat to the PPP--a threat that was as acute as the one felt by the PNC. But given the PPP's claim to a revolutionary tradition, one would have thought that it would have had little difficulty in fittingly honoring the life of a fellow traveler, even if in life he may have been a political threat. It seems to this writer that the PPP in its mission to marginalize Rodney's party, the WPA, is willing to marginalize Rodney. Once again it is a case of our region's political directorate being caught up in what Clarence Ellis calls "political footballing." All I can say is "Shame on the PPP." Ultimately, history will not be kind to them on this score.

As a Rodneyite, I am compelled on this 15th anniversary of Walter's murder to make a pitch for revolutionary action on the part of the Guyanese and Caribbean people. Walter asked us before his death, to use his body as a barricade for the revolution if he should fall on the battlefield. While some have heeded his advice over the past fifteen years, most of us have shied away from carrying out this noble duty.

Whether we like it or not, revolution is a constant that no "new world order" could kill. Moreover, revolution is not only about collective mass political action; it's also about individual action and small group action. This reminder comes to us from none other than Rodney's widow, Pat, in an interview carried in this issue of Caribbean Daylight. Who better to advice on this score than Mrs. Rodney? She has raised three children on her own and in the process earned a Ph.D. and continues to be an example for women and men everywhere.

I want to challenge the Caribbean people, especially readers of this column, to join the crusade to lift Rodney's life and legacy to the heights it deserves. This is not a party or race issue, for Rodney is bigger than race and party. And I use "is" deliberately for Walter. Rodney lives on despite the several attempts to assassinate him since June 13, 1980. As the Caribbean poet Edward Kamu Brathwaite says in his "Poem for Walter"

" ..but there are stars that burn, that murderers do not know soft diamonds behind the blow to bits that trackers could not find that bombers could not see that scavengers will never hide away"

Walter Rodney is a treasure, our treasure. So if he lives and strives, we live and strive. If we honor and celebrate him, we celebrate the best in ourselves. Understand that no political directorate must dictate who our heroes must be; we must dictate to them who our heroes are. As a region whose history is soaked with the blood of patriots we have to look to those martyrs for inspiration in our journey to full liberation. They died so that we may be stronger in our quest for liberty, justice and freedom. Understand that.

And when we understand that, we will understand why Rodneyites hold strong to Rodney and seek to rally our people in that direction. Have we as a people consistently lived the Rodney way? The answer is a resounding NO. We still look to corrupt politicians for salvation as we doubt our ability individually and collectively direct our own journey to the promised land. We still get caught up in petty rivalry as our nation bleeds to death. We still hold on to the "isms" that have made us into self-killers. We still look to others for spiritual and intellectual example as we murder our prophets. We still keep the works of Rodney, C.Y. Thomas, Eusi Kwayana, CLR James, Che, Malcolm, and Fidel from our children minds. In short, we still wallow in self-hatred. It is time for us to wake up. Now more than ever we need Rodney. If the rulers seek to down play Rodney we have to assert him. There are no ifs and buts about that. So let us start now.

In this hour of crisis in our society, Walter Rodney's life is a fitting example. A man who rose from simple beginnings to become an intellectual giant of awesome proportions, yet found it fitting to put that intellect to the service of his people in factory, field and classroom. On the basis of his academic achievement only, Walter Rodney is deserving of the highest honor. In his relatively short academic career, Rodney wrote or edited nine books or booklets and approximately 31 articles in scholarly journals. Put these together with dozens of presentations at scholarly conferences and other gatherings and one gets a prolific academic who found the time to engage in political struggle. Our people, especially the children, must become familiar with these works as therein lay a fount of knowledge that is the product of our own indigenous experiences.

Since Rodney was more than an academic, we need to know more about his life outside the classroom. Many of us pretend to be ignorant of his revolutionary activities in Africa, Guyana and the Caribbean. There have been scores of articles and a few books on his activities. We need to make a special effort to make these books available to our children. It is almost criminal for a Caribbean household not to have at least one book by or about Walter Rodney. One booklet that every decent Caribbean person needs to read is "Walter Rodney" written by Eusi Kwayana. This booklet traces Walter Rodney's activities in Guyana from 1974 to the time of his murder. Each adult should make an effort to give this or other Rodney books as gifts to our children.

For too long we have not honored our heroes. Now is the time to start. On this June 13, 1995, Guyana and the Caribbean need to reflect on the true meaning of Walter Rodney's life to our society. But we must do more than that. We must begin to live the Rodneyite life. Believe in ourselves both individually and collectively. Strive for our own emancipation and ignore the prophets of promise and destruction. Free up our minds from the shackles of cultural degradation. Hail up Walter Rodney!

David Hinds lectures in Caribbean and African Diaspora Studies at Arizona State University in the USA. His writings on Politics in Guyana and the Caribbean can be found on his GuyanaCaribbeanPolitics.com website.