EVERY fibre in my being, every drop of blood coursing through my veins and every breath I take, were it not for the valiant struggles and determination of my ancestors, such could not have been possible. This month, as we commemorate victory over slavery, a brutish system that ended not because of docility, but because of the rebellious tenacity of my forebears who not only made the trade not worth the while economically, but also impossible to sustain because they were not going to give of their labour and be treated as sub-humans.

I do not carry my six-foot-three-and-a half inches frame oblivious of the broad and strong shoulders I stand on, the indomitable spirit I am the beneficiary of,  and the seriousness of the responsibility bequeathed to me to build on my inheritance and secure a much better world than I have inherited. Had my ancestors given up, thrown in the towel, cowered in the face of adversity or stay docile, I could not have been. And given that it is because of them I am who I am, anyone who thinks he/she can break my stride or stem my passion to build on the struggles, in pursuit of creating a just and fair society, don’t know me or what I stand for. For like my ancestors, I would rather die fighting on my feet, than live as a fool on my knees.

I am the proud great, great, great great grandson of Cudjoe McPherson of Litchfield, West Coast Berbice. He is from my mother, Louise Thompson’s, lineage. Her grandmother was his granddaughter. What I know of him is what have been told to me by great uncle Henry Young, cousins Joseph McPherson, John and Barclay Downer and other families and what have been documented in history for posterity. To say I am mighty proud of him would be an understatement. There are very few instances where words fail to capture the totality of my feelings and this is one such.

In 1840, Plantation Litchfield was transported to Cudjoe and others. Behind the transporting of this plantation, which became the village of Litchfield, there resides a rich story of my ancestor’s purchase. Cudjoe saved enough money in 1838 — after four years of amelioration (1834-1838), where in the transition to freedom there was some form of wage labour, though miserly — to purchase this village single-handedly. The system back then was against any one person acquiring so much land.

In Cudjoe’s wisdom and determination for ownership, for that is what it was, he mobilised a group to join him in the acquisition of securing the transport, though it was his money that bought the plantation. While recorded history tells us that the first village purchased was Victoria, East Coast Demerara, the process of acquisition of land by Cudjoe started before Victoria’s. Litchfield was distributed among the persons whose names appeared on the transport.

As I write this column,  in front of me is the copy of the layout of the village of Kingelly which great, great, great, great grandfather Cudjoe bought. This is the village that was bought after he pioneered the village movement in West Coast Berbice with the purchase of Plantation Litchfield. For the purchasing of Kingelly, Cudjoe commissioned a survey that was done in February 1868 by William Chalmers, where 32 lots were assigned to 32 persons on the southern side of the public road. Among that group was my great, great, great grandfather Edwin Semple. He is both of my mother and father’s, Stephen Lewis,  lineage. Cudjoe kept for himself the northern side of the public road, stretching across the entire village. The northern side of this land, by transport, remains in his name.

In 1964 the heirs of Cudjoe committed a survey of this land, with a view of transporting it. This was challenged in the court primarily by persons who came here as indentured servants and squatted in the village. To date, progress has not been made to ensure the rightful heirs can appropriate the land for their development. The lawyer, Donald Robinson, who was representing this matter on the heirs’ behalf has since passed. The matter is at a standstill and the progress of this family held in limbo. I can speak of the village of Kingelly from a vantage position, but I know there are many other cases of this nature that are plaguing the personal purchases of villages by African ancestors.

The Commission of Inquiry into ancestral lands that has been put in place by the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo administration holds out some hope to having what can become a volatile situation resolved amicably. As a proud Black man I am ever conscious of the false claims made that my people are lazy, violent, without ambition, stand or fought for nothing, have achieved nothing, are of criminal minds, cannot handle money, and would amount to no good. The stories of many families from slavery have shown none of these allegations are representative of us as a single race, but that of some aspects of human characteristics present in every race. At the same time, I call on my race to stand up you mighty people, have none belittle you, nor stray from your proud path of struggles and achievements.

The journey for human dignity and respect is far from over and you cannot let up or give in now. We must return to being our brothers and sisters’ keepers and stand against any form of discrimination and misconduct, be it committed on us by our race or another, or our race doing it to ourselves or others. We must build on the formidable legacy of our ancestors, where right is right and wrong is wrong. The house and compliant slaves who undermined and delayed the quest for freedom are no different than the free today who remain mentally shackled and operate likewise.  Ours is a journey not born out of only compassion, but also human decency to do what’s right by humankind and we must proudly take this road.