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← The Griot | Stories Roots Legacyvorgestern · 4 Min.

Trinidad, 1970: The Black Power Revolt

Trinidad, 1970: The Black Power Revoltvorgestern4 Min.

In February 1970, marches began across Trinidad and Tobago led by the National Joint Action Committee, NJAC. On April 6 a protester, Basil Davis, was killed by police. On April 21 Prime Minister Eric Williams declared a state of emergency and arrested fifteen Black Power leaders. A part of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment mutinied. This episode tells what the record shows about the three months that shook the country.

Sources: Tribune magazine, the American African and Indigenous Historical Society, the Jamaica Observer's obituary for a Black Power leader, Searchlight, the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago, and reference histories. Where sources give different numbers, the episode says so.