Taylor-made National Heroes

By Devon Dick

RECENTLY, ORVILLE Taylor, University of the West Indies lecturer, wrote: "George William Gordon is perhaps the greatest of our heroes, because, voted in by the rich, he took on the concerns of the poor and was martyred. Sam Sharpe and Paul Bogle paid with their lives, but they were fighting for their own causes, and Nanny was pushed in because she was a woman, to appease the feminists." (Gleaner, August 5). The premise on which Taylor has declared Gordon possibly the greatest National Hero is faulty.

When Gordon was elected to the House of Assembly in 1844 to represent St Thomas in-the-Vale, he was supported by the planter class and his speeches reflected such interests. However, when in 1863 he was elected to the House of Assembly for St Thomas in-the-East he was supported by the Native Baptists (See my book, Cross and Machete: The Native Baptists of Jamaica, page 70 ff). In fact, after his election in March 1863 as a member of the House of Assembly for St Thomas in-the-East, Gordon told James Phillippo, English Baptist missionary, that he has given much attention to the Native Baptists whom he credited for his election. "See what the Baptists have done here, the poor native Baptists, by peaceably means; they have raised, at last, a representative for the Baptists people and churches of all classes in this land."

Native Baptists were those persons who were principally of African origin, and who had their own interpretation of the Bible and understanding of God which was different from that of the missionaries, in that they believed in equality of all and justice for all. The Native Baptists were indigenous to Jamaica. They felt that they were legitimate ministers of the gospel and were confident that they could do a competent job. They also wanted to be in charge of their church property and wanted to have independence from European management. As we celebrate 50 years of political independence we should affirm the Native Baptists who declared their independence from European Baptists from the nineteenth century.

It is remarkable that history books that dominate our education system continue to portray Bogle and other Native Baptists as violent when Gordon was commending them for wanting peaceful change in their socio-economic political situation by peaceful constitutional means. They were using the ballot box to effect change, and in response Gordon advocated on behalf of the constituents who placed him there through voter registration and voter mobilisation. Gordon was not voted in by the rich but by ordinary Native Baptists, led by Paul Bogle as campaign manager, who engaged in voter enumeration.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that Gordon was a martyr. In other words, did Gordon voluntarily give up his life for the cause in which he was involved? Did Gordon believe it could cost him his life? I have not seen any such evidence. He was not involved in the planning or execution of the protest and was not even at the scene of protest. Gordon was unjustly killed by the colonial authorities, but that does not make him a martyr; otherwise, there would be many martyrs today who have been killed unjustifiably. Bogle, on the other hand, knew that there was a possibility that he could be killed for the cause for which he was fighting and so he could legitimately be considered a martyr. And Gordon, not being a martyr, does not diminish his contribution to Jamaica.

Let's hope that Taylor's comments on Bogle, Sharpe and Nanny are based on research and not just opinionated writing; otherwise, what we would have are Taylor-made National Heroes.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com