In 2007, the University of Nebraska Press published a book by an American lady professor named Anne S. Macpherson, a book she called “FROM COLONY TO NATION: Women Activists and the Gendering of Politics in Belize.”
The book was highly critical of the UBAD (United Black Association for Development) movement, which lasted from February 1969 to November 1974, led for most of these near five years by yours truly.
Today, Anne Macpherson’s book continues to be used by Belizean feminists to decry the fact that there was limited female leadership at the executive level in UBAD. But, it should be noted that the ruling political party of the time, the People’s United Party (PUP), had only one lady Cabinet minister/area representative among its eighteen leaders, the late Madame Gwendolyn Lizarraga.
I feel the time has come for me to answer Ms. Macpherson, who never interviewed me, but quoted a male someone who once spoke on our rostrum but never held a UBAD leadership position, on page 258 of her book as saying of UBAD: “… nothing was thought out.” I considered this an incredible quote, but I also know the gentleman quoted had been attacked in print by myself in late 1993 thereabouts, so he had reason to be hostile.
Now, what about Ms. Macpherson? She used the magazine FUN & GAMES, published and edited by myself between August and December of 1979, to press home an indictment of UBAD and myself as disrespectful of women.
The truth is that FUN & GAMES had nothing to do with UBAD, which had been dissolved five years before the five issues of the magazine were printed.
FUN & GAMES was basically financed by Said Musa, with whom I was close politically in 1979, as he campaigned for the Fort George seat against the incumbent, the late Dean Lindo, who was the Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Opposition and had defeated him, Said, in 1974.
As publisher/editor, I patterned our magazine on Playboy, a Hugh Hefner publication which had been massively successful in the United States. The Playboy format utilized beautiful women in various stages of undress to attract, presumably, a largely male audience, but at the same time the magazine catered to a highly educated audience with brilliant articles written by superb writers.
Today, I will accept criticism for the photo spreads of beautiful Belizean women in the five issues of the magazine we printed before we folded. These beautiful Belizean women, quite clothed in comparison with Playboy models, included Sarita Acosta, who had become famous earlier in 1979 when she reached the semi-finals of the Miss Universe contest in Australia.
Incidentally, our photographers were Anselmo Belisle, Manolo Romero, and the late Wilton “Kim” Meighan. (I don’t believe Kim did any of the female photo spreads, only Anselmo and Manolo.)
The writers who appeared in the pages of FUN & GAMES in its five issues included myself; Charles B. Hyde (my dad); Glenn Tillett; Ed Yorke, Jr. (deceased); James Adderly; Dickie Bradley; Joey Belisle; Ronald Hyde (my younger brother); Chubby Reneau (deceased); Dean Barrow (later Prime Minister of Belize from 2008-2020); Russell Gillett; and Lawrence “Pampo” Young (deceased).
Among the famous and high-profile Belizeans featured in the articles and interviews produced by our writers were the engineer Bob Mahler (deceased); musician Dickie Straughan; basketballer Lew Bachus; footballer Garrincha Adderly; lighter owner/historian Pol Smith (deceased); preacher/bodybuilder/cyclist Rene Gordon; basketballer and sports administrator Sonny Meighan; singer Yvonne Simpson; artist/sculptor George Gabb (deceased); footballer Ricky Gongora; footballer Christobal Mayen; politician/elder Jim Meighan; soldier Mike Bouloy (deceased); footballer Enrique Carballo; cyclist Alfred Parks; boxer/architect Eckert Lewis; and basketballer Pulu Lightburn.
The ladies featured in FUN & GAMES included all the great softball pitchers of the era: Consuelo Dougal; Isolene Heath (deceased); Linda Lewis; Margaret Peters; and Margaret Usher.
Another ladies softball article, written by Pampo Young, spoke of Noreen Bodden, Mae Dougal, Anita Smith, Sonia Buller, Delsie Franklin, Linda Burgess, Delsie Dawson, Radiance Stephens, Sonia Allen, Marie Middleton, and Sandra Usher.
After the 1979 general election, the financing for our magazine fell through, so that our projected January 1980 issue, which would have featured Glenda Ellis, the star of the Belize team which defeated the United States in the late 1970s, never materialized.
I have more to say to Ms. Macpherson, but that will be another time.
Power to the people.