By Lincoln Lewis
As descendant of the African race who fought against and overcome the brutal system of chattel slavery, August- Emancipation month- means much to me. August reinforces that 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 economically not worth the while but also impossible to sustain, because they were not going to give of their labour 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 stayed 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 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 has 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 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. I have in my position the transport for 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, 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. 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!
