Dear Editor,
I was not born until after Majority Rule, but even I cannot understand that since the staging of the PLP’s 49th National General Convention there has been an attempt by some, including editorial writers and letter writers to your space, to seek to portray the PLP and some of its members as “racists”, or at best, persons who take pride in speaking what has been termed as “racism”.

It appears that the present commentary has been fueled by the fact that some speakers took the liberty at the Convention to speak to the history of The Bahamas and the days of the minority government when only a select few white Bahamians were given the opportunity to steer the direction of the government and this nation’s political and commercial interests.

The use of the phrases that conjure in the minds of the listeners that we will not allow our country to drift backwards is not a racist statement nor can that statement conjure up any image of racism. The sentiment expressed in that statement is purely historical and beckons the people to simply remember the advancements that have been made in this country post the 10th January, 1967.

My grandmother, mother and others shared with me stories of what life was like back in the 1940s, 1950s and the early 1960s. These stories are factual and they mirror what I was taught in my social studies classes and what I read in the history books published about that era. I cannot believe that anyone, with the possible exception of that slim minority who had it all, would wish to go back to the days when the lightest and the brightest brown skin was just not white enough; the days when the ticket to your success was determined solely by family ties and the shade of your skin.

There has been a recent tendency, particularly post August 1992, for some members of this society to attempt to rewrite history and to try to reverse the situation that existed in The Bahamas prior to the downfall of the minority government. The facts cannot change and they all point to a situation where there existed not only racial discrimination but also class discrimination. Black Bahamians and poor white Bahamians were treated similarly and the white oligarchy was exclusively comprised of a particular set of white Bahamians, who enjoyed the economic wealth and the social privileges that came with that wealth. How the wealth was obtained is not an issue, but the indisputable fact is that the white minority controlled the politics and the economy of these Islands.

It is beyond contradiction that the Progressive Liberal Party among its many, many victories for The Bahamas as a whole has provided more economic opportunity and more chance at equality for the vast majority of white Bahamians than either the minority United Bahamian Party Government or its successor party, the Free National Movement Government.  This fact is and has been acknowledged by even the most senior members of that side.

We again take this opportunity to invite and promise to welcome with open arms all those white Bahamians of goodwill who share our unshakeable belief in Bahamian nationalism, in the ability of all Bahamians to build our country with our own hands; our belief in equality of treatment before the law, and in continuing the economic empowerment of the socio-economic Bahamian masses - no matter what their colour.

Bahamians of all colours understand that the PLP is the party of inclusion, where one’s views and input are welcome and taken as seriously as they are given.  The PLP is the party where the litmus test of loyalty and the ability to serve does not stretch back to 1972 and is not intended to exclude, but has to do with the commitment of a generation to the forward movement of a nation.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why it is a dirty thing to talk about the history of The Bahamas without someone from the former class of exclusively privileged white Bahamians or their revisionists suggesting that it is a racist slur. This is utter nonsense and is nothing more than a psychological attempt by them to rewrite our history so as to erase the days of the minority government and to put forth an image as if there always existed in this place racial harmony and unity.  Nothing can be further from the truth.

I am always astonished when the Tribune and its editorial writer try to brand the PLP as a Party that practices racism. The facts are so diametrically opposite this conclusion that it reeks of journalistic dishonesty and even intellectual dishonesty. The former Leader of the PLP, Sir Lynden Pindling, along with others, were responsible for wresting this nation from the hands of the minority, who used practices for many years to stifle electoral fairness and active participation by Black Bahamians in the political process. In fact, one only needs to read the story of Stephen Dillett to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the tactics employed by the white Bahamian to prevent a duly elected black man from entering the halls of the legislative chamber. What was done to Stephen Dillett was and did amount to racism.

Since the attainment of Majority Rule, almost 39 years ago, there has been no program, no initiative, no covert or overt practice by any of our Afro-Bahamian leaders to seek to prevent the full involvement of white Bahamians in the political arena. The fact that the FNM is a merger of the Free PLPs and the United Bahamian Party is a fact that cannot be disputed by any honest Bahamian. Further, the fact that the UBP represented the minority white oligarchy is a fact that no honest Bahamian can dispute.  The fact that there existed racial discrimination in these Islands prior to Majority Rule is a fact that cannot be disputed.

The PLP has no reason to use racism as a political ploy or to incite a return to the racist past. The majority of the Bahamian people fully understand that racism existed in this country and that the Black Bahamian was the victim of this discrimination. By referring to the past and to what the past truly means and symbolizes cannot amount to racism nor can it have as its end result the incitement of racism.

It is a common saying that a people must know from whence they came. This presupposes that there must be full appreciation of the past and the present. It cannot be disputed that the Black Bahamian is a far better and more advanced people today than ever before. This is due in large measure to the policies, initiatives and programs that have been advanced by the PLP in government post Majority Rule.

As we approach the 39th anniversary of the attainment of Majority Rule, I thought that I should end this piece by quoting from the words penned by the former National Chairman of the PLP, Hubert Ingraham, in a letter that he wrote to mark the tenth anniversary of Majority Rule in January 1977. He wrote these words:

"Members and supporters of our great Party throughout the country must necessarily be proud and pleased on the 10th day of January 1977. They are doubtlessly mindful that on this date ten years ago, our struggle to remove from power forever the United Bahamian Party and elect a truly representative government, in its place indeed.

Our Party's progress in government over the last decade has been tremendous in many areas of our national life, for many new opportunities in business, banking, law, industry, agriculture and fisheries have become available to our people…

We must not permit the deceitful Bay Street Boys to govern us either through the UBP or any other political party. "

These are powerful words that are a part of the history of The Bahamas and the history of the PLP. They still reside in the historic hall at the PLP Headquarters in a frame bearing a photo of the then Chairman. These words were true when they were written in 1977 and even twenty-eight (28) years later they still reflect the views and opinions of some Bahamians.

In penning this piece it was my intent to place in the most appropriate historical context the sentiments of some Bahamians that we must ensure that we never return to the days of old; that we must never go backwards but as a people must continue to move forwards.  I can only hope that those, in some quarters, who read this and comment upon it, will resist perversity and understand that the PLP is for all Bahamians.

I am ever grateful for your space.

With thanks,
Raynard Rigby
National Chairman, PLP