Labour Day Rally of 1962

"I, Randol Francis Fawkes, being of sound mind, do hereby firmly RESOLVE that I shall hereafter let every thought, every act of mine be decided and weighed in the scale of human values so that whatever I may do may benefit not only one or two individuals but humanity at large, and I do hereby dedicate my life to the service of the oppressed. Christ did it, Abraham Lincoln did it, Franklin Roosevelt did it, therefore I myself will do it. God give me the strength strong enough and life long enough to see it through."

— A Journal Entry, 1945-1947

Sir Randol Fawkes, Balmoral Hotel — 1998

“I AM Sir Randol Fawkes”

An audio recording highlighting the major accomplishments of Sir Randol Fawkes.

— Narrated by Shelley Wallace Moxey

The Right Excellent Sir Randol Fawkes Knight Bachelor National Hero was born on March 20, 1924, in New Providence to Edward and Mildred Fawkes of Fort Fincastle.

On graduating from The Government High School in December 1942, his father apprenticed him to T. Augustus Toote, who was the second Black Bahamian lawyer from Over-the-Hill. Fawkes was called to The Bahamas Bar in April 1948. He married Jacqueline Bethel of West End, Grand Bahama in 1951 and they had four children: Francis, Rosalie, Douglas and David.

During the 1950s and 60s, he became involved with almost every progressive movement that aimed to empower citizens of the Negro race and was a founding member of The Citizens’ Committee and The People’s Penny Savings Bank. In 1955, he established The Bahamas Federation of Labour and united exploited workers into a powerful fist that would work towards ridding the country of the injustices brought on by a British Colonial regime.

In the 1956 General Election, Sir Randol, along with Sir Lynden Pindling, Clarence Bain, Cyril Stevenson, Samuel Isaacs, and Sir Milo Butler ran on a Progressive Liberal Party platform and won their respective constituency seats. They were heralded as The Magnificent Six and on their shoulders rested the political, social, and economic aspirations of the people.

In January of 1958, as President of the Bahamas Federation of Labour, Sir Randol led the General Strike which resulted in major constitutional, labour, and political reforms:

i. the abolition of the company vote the following year

ii. the extension of the franchise to all men over 21

iii. the creation of four new parliamentary seats (all of which were later won by the PLP)

iv. reduction of the plural vote to two

v. full adult male suffrage regardless of property qualifications

vi. the right of hotel and agricultural workers to join unions.

In 1961, he successfully piloted a Bill through the House of Assembly which established Labour Day as a Public Holiday, (every first Friday in June).

He was also the first representative to raise the question of Independence for the Bahamas on the floor of the House of Assembly in September 1966 and went on to plead the case before the United Nations urging its assistance for the Bahamian people in their stride towards self-determination.

In 1967, Sir Randol was elected to the House of Assembly as the Labour Party representative for the St. Barnabas District. When the deadlock occurred between the United Bahamian Party and the Progressive Liberal Party, he cast his vote with the P.L.P. and thereby enabled them to form the first Black government of The Bahamas. He later became the Minister of Labour and Commerce in a P.L.P. Labour Coalition Government.

Sir Randol is the author of “The Faith That Moved The Mountain”, “You Should Know Your Government”, and “The Bahamas Government”.

In 2013, a Bill was passed to rename the Labour Day Holiday to Randol Fawkes Labour Day. In 2020, after having given his efforts, toil, and life to The Bahamas in a spirit of unselfish dedication, he was posthumously named a National Hero.

A Chronology

1948— Called to The Bahamas Bar.

1948— Spearheaded the movement for the existence of the Court of Appeal.

1949— Joined the Citizens’ Committee.

1951— Married Jacqueline Rosalie Bethel from West End, Grand Bahama.

1951— One of the founders and the secretary of The People’s Penny Savings Bank.

1952— One of the founding fathers of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association (B.A.A.A.).

1955— Founded The Bahamas Federation of Labour.

1956— Elected to the House of Assembly for the Southern District.

1956— Spearheaded the movement for associating The Bahamas with the University of the West Indies.

1956— Served on the House Select Committee on Labour Relations and Constitutional Reforms.

1958— Played host to the late Dr. Martin Luther King.

1958— As President of The Bahamas Federation of Labour, he led the General Strike, which resulted in major constitutional and labour reforms. Later, the strike paved the way for the downfall of British Colonialism in these islands.

1958— On a lecture tour of New York City, he was recognized by the Caribbean League of America and Abyssinia Baptist Church for his outstanding contributions to Bahamian life and times.

1958— Honoured in Nassau by the National League of Beauty Culturalists.

1959— Travels to Bermuda to attend an historic conference and to give support to the Bermuda Industrial Union.

1961— Piloted a bill through the House of Assembly thereby establishing Labour Day as a paid public holiday.

1961— Responsible for a resolution to create a Labour Exchange and the Old Age Pension Act.

1962— Re-elected to the House of Assembly.

1963— Represented the Labour Party at a constitutional conference in London.

1966— He was one of the first persons on record to advocate national independence and he pleaded his case before the United Nations.

1967— As an elected Labour leader, he broke the deadlock between the United Bahamian Party (U.B.P.) and the Progressive Liberal Party (P.L.P.) by casting his vote with the P.L.P.

1967— In the P.L.P.- Labour Coalition Government, he became the Minister of Labour and Commerce with Copyright Law in his portfolio.

1967— Successfully launched the Industrial Relations Charter for The Bahamas in Freeport.

1967— Recognized by The Bahamas Federation of Labour and the Bahamas Trade Union Congress for the invaluable contribution made to the Free Trade Union Movement in The Bahamas.

1968—Represented the Labour Party at the Second Constitutional Conference in London.

1970— He was the architect of the November Motion of No Confidence in the P.L.P. Government. This resulted in the Dissident Eight who formed the basis of the F.N.M. political party.

1972— Listed in Personalities Caribbean—The International Guide to Who’s Who in the West Indies, Bahamas and Bermuda.

1977— Knight Bachelor conferred by the Queen.

1990— Recognized by the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association “in recognition of all your sacrificial struggles for the freedom and dignity of the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas”.

1993— Named “Man of the Year” by the Cable Beach Kiwanis Club, New Providence, Bahamas.

1997— Reaches an amicable settlement in the Court of Appeal with regard to his pension case. This resulted in the Parliamentary Pensions Act 1995 for Former Parliamentarians and Senators and The Sir Randol Fawkes Pension Act 1998.

1998— Received the Silver Jubilee Award in recognition of his outstanding national contributions in the field of Trade Unionism and Labour.

1999— Launched the Trade Union Movement in the Cayman Islands.

1999— Cited as one of the most influential Bahamians of the twentieth century in the Tribune’s Millennium Souvenir Edition.

1999— Featured as one of the faces of the century in The Guardian’s edition of Memories—The Turning of a Century.

2000— Listed in the Wendell K. Jones Publication: The 100 Most Outstanding Bahamians of the 20th Century.

2000— Sir Randol Fawkes dies on June 15th.

2008— Posthumously awarded the Trail Blazer award by C.E.O. Network.

2008— Sir Randol was posthumously honoured by the National Father/Son Committee for his outstanding contribution to fatherhood and politics in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

2012— Posthumously honoured by Bahamas Faith Ministries.

2012— Posthumously honoured as one of the founding fathers of The Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association.

2013— Sir Randol is featured on the front cover of Batelco’s telephone directory. The directory’s cover marked the fortieth anniversary of the nation’s independence.

2013— The Government of The Bahamas unanimously passes an act in Parliament to rename Labour Day to Randol Fawkes Labour Day.

2013— Public signing of the Majority Rule and National Heroes Acts, October 11th, 2013, at Government House, Mount Fitzwilliam.

2020— On November 19th, 2020, the Governor General of the Bahamas conferred on Sir Randol the order of National Hero.