I am pleased to be the Member of Parliament for the Fox Hill constituency on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Independence of The Bahamas.

Today, we gather here under the silk cotton tree to celebrate freedom.  We celebrate two historic occasions today.  First we think of those freed African slaves who formed the first village called Fox Hill within the sight of these trees three centuries ago.  On the 1st of August this year, we shall celebrate the 172nd anniversary of the abolition of slavery.  We must remember lest we forget.

It is said that in the Jewish tradition, the youngest child in a family on occasions of history and ceremony is made to recite the history of his people.  This is to ensure that the generations never forget the history of their people.  We here today are finding our own unique way of ensuring that we never forget that one time, some people thought that people of our hue were slaves and chattel.  Our forefathers and foremothers fought so that we could be free, free to gather, free to listen, and free not to listen.

The second freedom that we celebrate there this evening is the freedom from Great Britain which came with Independence on 10th July 1973.

This year the National Independence Committee asked that all communities mark the anniversary of the independence of our country in their own unique way.  I believed that we ought to bring the community together to mark independence with this flag raising ceremony this evening.

By doing this, we bring the meaning of freedom to Fox Hill once again.  We recall those freedom fighters of Fox Hill: men like Joseph Hutchison whom we buried earlier today, and Bishop John L. Ferguson who buried last month, and Bishop Austin Saunders whom we buried last year, George Mackey whom we buried this year.  There were women like Mother Johnson who has sadly left us.  Some of the pioneers are still with us like Miriam Roker and Frank Edgecombe.  Fred Ramsay and Richard Rahming, Eric Wilmott.

You can call many of the names yourself.  The point is to remember those who helped to make us free and who made the sacrifice in their own quiet way to allow us to do what we do here this evening.

I told some friends in Exuma that following the Burma Road riots of 1942, the authorities tried to ban Junkanoo.  But Junkanoo which is the voice of Africa crying out in our culture is celebrated today, despite that official denial. So when the youngsters beat those goatskin drums tonight, when Trevor Pratt and Warren Davis lead the group of Junkanoo dancers they are marking freedom, a freedom which our ancestors fought for.  We must never forget.  There are so many names, too many to mention.

Within nine months our country will mark another kind of freedom, that of exercising our democratic right to choose who will govern us.  Our foremothers and forefathers fought hard to get the vote for Black people, to extend that vote to all persons including women, and then finally in 1969, the vote was extended to all persons above the age of 18.   1969 was not very long ago.  So we have only had that freedom for a short time.

That is why we must encourage all to exercise that freedom, by going out and registering to vote.  So far only twenty per cent of the people of Fox Hill have registered to vote and in the country just about one third.  We must not take these freedoms for granted.  I urge you all to register to vote.

When those of us who want to lead come around, you should know what the qualifications are to run for the House of Assembly.  The law says that you need to be Bahamian, 21 years of age, not a bankrupt and be of sound mind.  There are no other basic qualifications.

But each must ask intelligent probing questions, and test the faithfulness to the Bahamian people as we look to the future.  Each must be asked to defend freedom and support the community.

The Bible in First Corinthians says the following:

Charity is another word for love.  And tonight we speak of love of the community.  We thank those of the Urban Renewal programme that is headed by Inspector Richardson, and we thank the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the reserves for all the good work which they do in this community and around The Bahamas.  And what I like about how the programme works is it does not boast about itself.  What the Bible writer is telling us is that when we have charity and we do good works, it is not a good idea to violate the privacy of individuals without their consent and boast about your charity as if that is the only reason you did it.  We must protect the rights of the poor and dispossessed.

Slavery is over in The Bahamas.  We will celebrate that in Fox Hill on August Monday.  The Governor General Arthur Hanna will be making his first official visit here.  He used to be your representative in the days of the old Far East district.  The ceremony will be live on the radio.  There will be a live television broadcast from Fox Hill on Thursday 3rd August sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and I invite you all to be here.   Emancipation Day will be Monday 7th August; there will be Junkanoo in Fox Hill again this year climaxing the summer Junkanoo festival by the Ministry of Tourism here in Fox Hill.  Fox Hill Day will follow the next day Tuesday 8th August.  We shall be plaiting the maypole and climbing the greasy pole.  This year the prize is expected to rise significantly for that event.  It promises to be a great time here in Fox Hill at the nation’s premier summer festival.  The Prime Minister will make his usual annual visit to Fox Hill for Fox Hill day.

We also plan to construct a Fox Hill Wall of Fame to mark the contributions of the freedom fighters of Fox Hill.  It will be important for you to start thinking of the names that might go on such a wall.

And so tonight as we end this brief ceremony, let us once again remember from whence we have come.  Let us remember that old Negro spiritual: we’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord, and we are trusting in his every word.  He’s never failed us yet.

Thank you and God Bless you!