Dear Editor,

I have read the articles and comments on the article of Monday, March 15, 2010 and would like to respond since I was quoted in the article.

It is unfortunate that a discussion as to the people of St Thomas stating they wish to have a true statue of National Hero Rt Excellent Paul Bogle should be degenerating into a discussion of “blackness” and the “them” and “us/we” in the country — the “them” being the unlettered majority and the “us/we” being the few who feel that whether by dint of birth or education they know what is right for the majority and therefore have the right to decide what the people should receive and the masses should accept this without a murmur.

It is a fact that the statue when unveiled looked like Mr Bagan. Anyone who knew Mr Bagan or looked at him and the statue could see they were one and the same. The controversy started from then with people complaining that it was not a statue of Paul Bogle, although the plaque beneath stated simply “Paul Bogle” but was one of Mr Bagan. Mr Bagan was very proud of his statue being in front of the courthouse.

Please understand that neither I nor anyone in St Thomas is questioning the integrity of Mrs Manley or is saying that she was not free to use whom she wished as the model for the statue. However, there was nothing there stating that this was an artistic impression.

Thousands of persons from all over the country and all over the world made the pilgrimage to Morant Bay to look at and touch what they thought and were led to believe by the sign, was a statue of National Hero Paul Bogle, in the same way the two statues of national heroes Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante at either ends of the park in downtown Kingston depict true likenesses and with them in poses depicting what they fought for in the 1930s.

If the artist felt that the statue that was placed in front of the courthouse was what a strong black man looked like, we do not take any issue with that. We are simply saying that the Rt Excellent Paul Bogle was a very tall man and described in one of the newspapers at the time of the rebellion as a “a man of energetic natural ability and dominant personality having the imperious character of an African chief combined with the conviction that he was an instrument of the power and justice of God”.

He was a baker by trade, was literate — could read and write — and was eligible to vote. Of a total island population of 440,000 in 1864, only 1,903 were eligible to vote, and Paul Bogle was one of those few. To be eligible to vote, you had to own property and have money in the bank.

He was a registered taxpayer, owning 500 acres of land, planted cane and was just beginning to plant cotton on his property, owned horses and had money in the bank. It was his concern for the grave plight of the majority of the people of St Thomas then (who looked like him) and the deep conviction that God had called him to help alleviate their suffering that led him to come forward as their leader.

He could have sat idly by like Mr George Pryce, another wealthy black man in the parish who sided with the planter class of the parish and was a member of the local governing body. Mr Pryce was actually present at the Vestry meeting on that fateful day. When there was hesitation as to what to do with him, since Bogle had told them not to harm their own, the women said he worked them building bricks and roads without paying them so he was to be killed, as although his skin was black his heart was white. This statement by the women then, speaks volumes about what pertained then and basically is still with us NOW.

Let us all learn to allow the spirit of God within us to listen when others speak, despite their social or economic status and try to understand where that person is coming from before scoffing or trying to ridicule them. The masses may not be able to express their ideas in proper English or with intellectual embellishments, but have “common sense”, which is a rare attribute.

We are saying, we are proud of who Paul Bogle was and we want his true image — since it is known what his true image looked like — so we and everyone who revere him for what he did can come and look at the true representation of this black man from humble beginnings (born a slave and freed in 1835 when slavery was abolished) who by natural ability pulled himself up to become a wealthy land owner but still had the humanity to hear the cries of his fellow black people and answer the call to lead them in their fight for justice.

Give us the Real Paul Bogle, possibly mounted on the white horse that he rode and dressed in his waistcoat, so that when parents and teachers take their black children to look at this black man, they look at his true likeness and feel the energy emanating from him and the children can be inspired to believe that by dint of hard work and natural ability, they too can achieve great things in their lives and in this country.

Dorette Abrahams

Morant Bay

St Thomas