Where They Stood by Black Community Resource Centre

Author:Black Community Resource Centre
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781773901350
Publisher: Linda Leith Publishing

Caribbean Conference Committee

Three years before the creation of the Caribbean Conference Committee (CCC), the failure of the Federation of the West Indies in May 1962 weighed on the minds of many West Indians who were in favour of federalism. For Trinidad and Jamaica, federalism opened doors for independence and a breakaway from colonialism. On the other hand, for smaller Islands, which had not yet attained self-government, it looked promising for “custom unions and economic development and functional cooperation.”

For many complex reasons, the federation failed, but in August 1962, both Jamaica and Trinidad gained independence from British rule. Many of the other Islands wished to follow in their footsteps. This common aspiration to combat colonialism in the West Indies brought a group of Caribbean men and women together in Montreal. Among this group were Anne Cools, Roosevelt (“Rosie”) Douglas, Franklyn Harvey, Antony Hill, Robert Hill, Alvin Johnson, Hugh O’Neile, and Alfie Roberts. The group was named the Caribbean Conference Committee and was extensively committed not only to the pursuit of West Indian unity but to providing a platform for Black intellectuals to discuss anti-colonial ideas and promote political and social change. The group’s activities also had the effect of essentially reviving Pan-Caribbeanism. They became engaged in finding solutions to the discrimination and racism that the rapidly increasing Black populations of Canada were facing.

The “Triple C” worked closely with notable radical West Indian writers such as George Lamming of Barbados, Lloyd Best of Trinidad, and C.L.R. James of Trinidad. James held private classes on Marxism and liberation with the CCC members. Lloyd Best and George Lamming worked with them in the publication of the New World Quarterly, a West-Indian based journal of political economy.

The New World Group met on a regular basis off campus at Levitt’s home. The group’s co-leader, Lloyd Best, emphasized a reconstruction of the existing system based on scholarly research. The New World Group complemented the work of the CCC. For instance, in 1966, New World asked George Lamming to produce a special issue for its journal New World Quarterly on Guyana’s independence. Lamming, who had ties with the CCC, called on the group to assist in preparing the journal.

New World Quarterly was more than just a journal. It provided young West Indian intellectuals from all different backgrounds—whether they were historians, poets, literary critics, economists, political scientists, sociologists, or journalists—a platform. New World Quarterly comprised mostly academics (mainly economists) who were engaged in research on social and economic issues, whereas the CCC was primarily a political organization comprising Caribbean students. Therefore, these groups were not in competition with each other. In fact, the two groups had a similar goal of freeing the Caribbean from colonialism and focused on creating post-colonial Caribbean societies. According to David Austin, Dany Fougères, and Roderick MacLeod, this 1966 prospectus published in New World Quarterly best describes the CCC’s mission:

The purpose of the 1966 Conference will be to discover in ourselves, in our societies, the roots of West Indian freedom. From being the historical agent

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