Honouring Black History Month 

A year ago I wrote a piece describing the origins of Black History Month, and highlighted five people who left their mark on Bermuda’s black history: Mary Prince, James “Jemmy” Darrell, Dr. Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon, Cyril Outerbridge Packwood and Dame Lois Browne-Evans. You can read last year’s piece here. This year I intend to limit (I struggle with this) my musings to three individuals who should be remembered for the path they forged amidst challenging and dark days. I’m also going to take the liberty and delve a bit deeper into the connections I personally have with two of these esteemed individuals, as of course this is Bermuda and if we’re not neighbours, we’re cousins. 

Dr. Kenneth E. Robinson OBE (1911-1978) was a trailblazing educator, historian, and Bermuda’s first Chief Education Officer. Dr. Robinson attended the Berkeley Institute, Excelsior Secondary School, University College London, the London Institute of Education and Harvard University.  Upon his return to Bermuda, he began teaching at the Berkeley Institute and then the Central School (now known as Victor Scott). From there he rose to the rank of Headmaster and led Sandy’s Secondary School, Harrington School and Francis Patton School. The next step led him into the Ministry of Education where he held the position of Senior Education Officer from 1965-70, culminating in the creation of a new position, Chief Education Officer, which he held from 1970-76. His 1962 publication Heritage is one of the most important books regarding black history in Bermuda, centering around the exploits of pre and post emancipation black Bermudians. Dr. Kenneth E. Robinson was married to Rosalind L. Taylor, the sister of my maternal grandfather. Although I never met my great uncle, I do have memories of great aunt Rosalind and was extremely honoured to be a pallbearer at her funeral. One of my most cherished possessions of Bermudiana history is a first-edition publication of Heritage with a personalised message from Dr. Robinson on the first page dedicated to my aunt. Thank you for being a blueprint of excellence for me to follow in my career as an educator and in my pursuit of history.  

I first met Dr. Stanley Ratteray (1934-2003) in his dental practice on Victoria Street sometime in the mid to late 1980s as a child. I remember there was always classical music playing, and the calming constant of a fish tank pump running in the background. Dr. Ratteray was a hulking figure with an impossibly deep baritone voice, and a gruff bedside manner. I will admit I was scared of him then (dentistry has a way of heightening fears for small children), but today I stand in awe of his moral compass and determination. Dr. Stanley Ratteray attended Sandy’s Secondary School, before travelling abroad to study dentistry at McGill University in Montreal. Upon returning to Bermuda he became a founding member of The Progressive Group, who helped to strategise and coordinate the campaign which led to the desegregation of theaters, hotels and other public places in 1959. He later fought for universal adult suffrage in Bermuda, helped to found the United Bermuda Party, was a political advisor at the first Constitutional Conference in 1966 which created much of Bermuda’s legal and legal framework, and oversaw the desegregation of Bermuda’s public schools as Education Minister. As a child I knew none of this (the members of the Progressive Group kept their identities hidden for decades), all I knew was that dentist Ratteray had an amazing fish tank, an impressive collection of classical music cassettes and that I’d better floss or else. I salute you sir.

Joseph Rainey (1832-1887) was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, and became a freedman in his youth after his father had managed to buy the family their freedom in the 1840s. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Joseph Rainey was forcibly conscripted by the Confederates to work on fortifications in Charleston. Wishing to escape this situation, Rainey, his wife, and their three children fled to the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, some six hundred odd miles away. Resettling in St.George’s, Rainey worked as a barber in the cellar of Tucker House, located on the corner of Water Street and Barber’s Alley (1+1= 2), while his wife ran her own successful dressmaking business. An outbreak of yellow fever forced the family to move to Hamilton where Joseph worked at the Hamilton Hotel (burned down in 1955, City Hall now sits on the spot) as a barber and bartender. In 1866 following the end of the Civil War, Rainey and his family returned to South Carolina where his experience and wealth helped him join the executive committee of the state Republican Party, become a delegate to the state constitutional convention, be elected to the South Carolina Senate and eventually become the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also the first African American to preside over the House and the longest-serving African American during the tumultuous Reconstruction period. To think that someone who reached such lofty heights against so many odds, once cut hair in sleepy little St. George’s is quite remarkable.

Let us not forget the struggles of yesterday and the shoulders of giants whom we stand upon today. This February please take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experiences surrounding black history on offer in Bermuda. I would suggest a family trip to St. George’s (Don’t forget your passports Western parish dwellers) to see Barber’s Alley and the Tucker House Museum, The Bermuda Heritage museum, The Globe Museum and The St. George’s Historical Society complete with Methodist preacher John Stephenson’s window (You’ll have to visit to understand the reference). 

     -  James Baldwin