The Tribune

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis urged Bahamians to never forget the significance of Majority Rule Day.

Speaking at a wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the event at the Progressive Liberal Party’s headquarters yesterday, he said the occasion was “a symbolic reminder of the significant role the Progressive Liberal Party and the father of the nation played in bringing about one of the most consequential and transformational events in our history, eclipsed only by the abolition of slavery in 1834.”

Mr Davis said: “With the addition of national independence on July 10, 1973, these three epic events changed the course of Bahamian history forever and etched in the annals of history the Bahamian national identity and the depth of our indomitable spirit.

“We must never grow weary of telling our story lest we lose our identity and heritage as a people. Further — and more nationally — as a free, modern, democratic and independent state, history must record that Majority Rule Day is also an occasion where all Bahamians come together to reflect on and celebrate the enduring principles of democracy. Today then, I stand with my Bahamian brothers and sisters from all walks of life in memorialising this day as a seminal moment in the ever-evolving Bahamian story.”

Mr Davis paid tribute to the many unsung heroes and heroines whose endearing and enduring legacies of selflessness and shared sacrifices, he said, remain the gold standard of our national culture in both public life and in the way we conduct our personal affairs with one another.

“I continue to draw, conviction, inspiration and influence from the passion of the Suffragettes, the labour movement, the church and from countless Bahamians who put it all on the line to secure a more perfect Commonwealth,” he said.

He also remarked on the role the late Sir Sidney Poitier played and the contributions he made during the country’s journey to Majority Rule.

“As a Bahamian with dual citizenship, Sir Sidney used his celebrity status in the struggle for civil rights - fighting racism, bigotry and injustice in both the United States and The Bahamas.

“Many Bahamians still recall his speaking to the issue at a reception in his honour to the then United Bahamian Party (UBP) government in recognition of his Academy Award for ‘Lilies of the Field.’

“A well-known story in PLP circles is his assistance to the Progressive Liberal Party in the run up to the 1967 general elections. There is an iconic photo of Sir Sidney and Sir Lynden at the back of an open limousine celebrating the 1967 victory. May he rest in peace.”

As a beneficiary of their sacrificial work, he also thanked Sir Lynden Pindling, Sir Milo Butler, Sir Randol Fawkes, Sir Clifford Darling, Dame Doris Johnson and Sir Sidney — for their “passion, faith, perseverance and uncompromising commitment to social justice, democracy, freedom and a sense of fair play.”

The Bahamas gained majority rule for the first time on January 10, 1967.

On that day both the PLP and the United Bahamian Party (UBP) won 18 parliamentary seats during the general election, with the remaining two going to Randol Fawkes, of the Labour Party, and Alvin Braynen, an Independent.

Mr Fawkes sided with the PLP, helping the party to form the first black-led government. Mr Braynen became Speaker of the House.