THIS year, as the country reflects on its struggle for self-determination and the attainment of political independence 60 years ago, it is instructive that the role of the Jamaican Diaspora be contemplated and that appropriate recognition be given to those who were not only foremost in positing the notion of an independent Jamaica, but whose life work was dedicated to this effort.

Much acknowledgement has been made of the ‘founding fathers’, Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante, but not enough has been done to elucidate those who paved the way for these stalwarts, those who worked diligently behind the scenes and, in a true sense, were the wind beneath their wings.

In highlighting the role played by the unsung heroes of Jamaica’s independence journey, this paper examines the circumstances, both within and outside of Jamaica, which helped to mould the thinking of these early nationalists. For those who resided outside of Jamaica, it looks at their continued attachment to their homeland and shows how this helped to influence the formulation and mushrooming of nationalist thoughts across the island.

These unsung heroes comprise members of the Jamaica Progressive League. While each made distinct contributions to the effort, this paper will not attempt to address the individual accomplishments of these members, but instead will treat them primarily as a collective.

The group was founded in 1937 in New York by migrants like Walter Adolphe Roberts, Reverend Ethelred Brown, Wilfred A Domingo, and James O’Meally. There were also women, such as Ivy Essien and TA D’Aguilar, who were not only political activists but, according to United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s file report, conducted business on behalf of the organisation.

The Jamaica Progressive League’s lobby for Jamaican self-government began in the 1930s — before Manley and Bustamante entered the political arena — and they remained resolute in their stance in supporting the anti-colonial campaign of both Manley and Bustamante.

Their interest in political events in Jamaica was born out of, not only concern for the worsening state of social and economic conditions in Jamaica, but also their experiences of racial discrimination in the United States and their involvement in the civil rights struggle there. The sense of ‘otherness’ they felt overseas helped to strengthen their attachment to the homeland — Jamaica — and was the motivating factor behind their anti-colonialist agenda.

This notion of a feeling of otherness and the impact it had on the rise in nationalist sentiments will also be examined in the context of other migrants who went to England in the 1950s. The resulting disconnect with English society helped to bolster support for self-government among Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora.

But first the paper will commence with an examination of the conditions in the United States, as well as other international events that helped to shape the ideologies of those migrant Jamaicans who became involved in the civil rights struggle in the United States and later played a part in the nationalist struggle in Jamaica in the 1930s and upwards and called themselves the Jamaica Progressive League.

TOMORROW: A tale of two countries

— Kesia Weise is a researcher at the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank