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Jomo Thomas (File photo).
Jomo Thomas (File photo).

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, April 29, IWN – Political activist and social commentator Jomo Thomas on Sunday announced that he is committing to pushing the name of Samuel “Sheriff Salasie” Lewis, the leader of the 1935 uprising, for consideration as a national hero of SVG.

Thomas’s announcement, during his weekly television commentary, came three days after he resigned for the National Heroes Committee in protest against Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves’ lobbying for former prime minister Robert Milton Cato to be made a national hero.

“By this inappropriate intervention, he has wilfully short-circuited the work of the National Heroes Committee which was charged with the responsibility to solicit, scrutinize, sift and then submit for Cabinet’s approval names of Vincentians suitable to join Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer in the national pantheon of heroes,” Thomas said.

“PM Gonsalves has attempted to closed the door shut on who our next heroes should be. Gonsalves even offered a short list that failed to include Samuel “Sheriff Salasie” Lewis, the leader and hero of the 1935 uprisings in SVG,” Thomas further stated.

Thomas, in his commentary and his resignation letter to Rene Baptiste, chair of the selection committee, said Gonsalves presentation on April 18 has made the work of the national heroes committee “superfluous”.

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He said he wanted to challenge many of the point Gonsalves made for Cato as a national hero but decided against it because of his then position on the committee.

“I have weighed this issue over in my head, I have ran it by friends and important colleagues and could find no useful purpose, except as a convenient rubber stamp for retaining membership on the National Heroes Committee,” Thomas said.

“Now that I have removed the muzzle of national service, I commit to pushing the name of Samuel ‘Sheriff Salasie’ Lewis, the leader of the 1935 uprising for consideration as a national hero of SVG,” he further stated.

A riot broke out in Kingstown on Oct. 1, 1935 and spread to a few other areas of the country.

Citizens were revolting against an increase of import duty on basic necessities by the Legislative Council coupled with the low and improvised standard of living in the period of depression that followed World War I.

9 replies on “Ex selection group member proposes riot leader as national hero”

  1. Jomo Thomas is just as bad as Gonsalves, they are both Marxist comrades. Perhaps Gonsalves should never of put him on the comittee in the first place if he cannot control him.

    Shame if they fall out because of Gonsaves’s nasty traits of controlling everything.

    Verbal abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse all come from a need to control.
    It is that need to control that, is the main factor in the destruction of relationships and our society in general.

    Those who have feelings of fear, worthlessness, inadequacy and shame that turn into control freaks. Their feelings of their own self-worth are tied to how well they can get others to bend to their whims and to follow their orders. They have a driving need to get control of their lives, which means controlling circumstances, and people.

    Control freaks have a low tolerance for any kind of emotional pain. Especially feelings of shame, fear and rejection of what they believe to be right and wrong. In fact many such freaks do not know right from wrong. When something happens in their life to bring forth these intolerable emotions they find ways to cope and normally their coping skills mean abuse for those around them.

    Here is a list of coping skills a control freak might resort to, in order to get their way:

    Yelling, screaming, using degrading and demeaning language.

    Calling people nasty names and attempting to destroy them by the power of control.

    Believing themselves to always be right.

    Interfering in the livelihoods of those who they cannot control, often attempting get them dismissed from their place of employment.

    Believing and telling others that only they can succeed in completing a project, projects or even the planning of projects.

    Blaming others for all that is wrong, even when the wrong is clearly their own fault.

    Awarding those who submit to their control.

    Administering spite and malice to those who oppose their control.

    Talking for hours to explain a simple matter that only requires a yes or no answer, or a simple and short answer. A need to control the listener, group or audience.

    Rape and sexual abuse of those close to them and even to strangers, is manifestly a control trait.

    Shutting down and not talking or responding to the need to discuss the problems.

    Withholding affection, financial help or anything else they think you need from them.

    Hitting, shoving, punching, kicking.

    Control freaks are usually cowards who look to others under their control for protection.

    Each of the above behaviours is an attempt by the abuser to tranquilize the intolerable emotional pain they feel when feeling out of control. Instead of looking internally and trying to figure out why they have such negative emotions they bury the pain, live in denial of it and distort the reality of their behaviours. How often have you heard an abuser blame the person they abuse for their actions? It is easier to blame someone else for bad behaviour than to admit they need help and to face those painful emotions head on.

    I am not saying that Gonsalves has any or all of these traits, you the readers are the best to judge that. I have recognised a few that I could point to, but I will leave it to you entirely. I really don’t want to be accused of being a control freak. Because in general they are pretty nasty people.

    I must say I was pretty blown away when I found this.

  2. Jomo is pro black what you expect,the problem with these pro black people is they do nothing for their mother land Africa,but they want to control every where else. While black kids die by the millions of starvation these clowns choose to make money off nonsense and childish arguments.#SHAMEfUL

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