When I received the Wednesday, March 28 letter which announced Lord Ashcroft’s assault on Kremandala, it was a stunning blow. This was Thursday afternoon, March 29. I turned the letter over to Jacinta, my daughter who runs the Amandala newspaper. I have come to lean on her heavily, but at this specific time Jacinta was totally pregnant. (She gave birth to a son on Saturday night, April 7.) Strictly speaking, I should have given the letter to Michael, my son who runs KREM Radio, because the Barrow & Williams attack targeted KREM Radio.
The first person I called, within minutes of receiving the letter, was Cedric Flowers, an accountant. I wanted to know how encumbered he was. Ashcroft is all over the place. Was Cedric free to advise me? His answer was affirmative. So then, I called Jacinta on the intercom to let her know that Cedric was my first line of defence.
I expected Jacinta to contact Cedric ASAP, but her first read, as I found out later, was that this required a lawyer. However, to repeat, she was about to deliver at any time, and the newspaper is her priority, especially on Thursday afternoon. To make matters worse, I was leaning on her as if her situation were normal, while I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
The result of this disconnect, if I may use that word, was that days passed before firm connection was established between Jacinta and Cedric, whereupon Kremandala’s first move was to authorize Cedric, in writing, to act on our behalf in the matter. The letter of authorization was copied to Barrow & Williams, whereupon Cedric then wrote the law firm in quest of documents. Apparently Cedric’s letter was sent on Wednesday, April 4, the day before Holy Thursday.
Rodwell Williams on that same Wednesday, April 4, having only received the carbon copy of Cedric’s authorization, wrote me a stern letter in my capacity as chairman of KREM Radio, a letter in which he used the word “forthwith.” As a layman, I considered the word “forthwith” to be a threat. At that point, remember, we still do not have a lawyer.
I received Williams’ April 4 letter on Tuesday, April 10, the first day after the Easter holiday. This was a time of consternation for me, because the matter is a technical one, for which I lack the necessary expertise. It was that Tuesday, or perhaps the day after, that Russell Vellos received an e-mail from Michael Young, Senior Counsel, offering his legal assistance in the Ashcroft matter. Michael sent his e-mail from Florida. It could not have arrived at a more propitious time. Trust me.
On Wednesday morning, April 18, myself, Rufus X, and other representatives of KREM Radio drove to Mr. Young’s law firm on Regent Street, where we met with him and Cedric Flowers. Mr. Young will write Barrow & Williams.
It is an interesting historical footnote that Michael Young’s uncles, Junior and Evan, perhaps saved my life, so to speak, back in 1971. I had been unemployed for two years and my life was in shambles when Junior and Evan, Wesley College board members, argued for the college to offer me a job.
My understanding is that the Youngs were strongly opposed in their proposal by the late Kathleen Frazer. I think Miss Frazer may have been thinking of the impressionable young ladies at the school. At this time I was only 24, and somewhat of a daredevil. As it was, during my entire school year (1971/1972) at Wesley College, there was only one student situation in which I became briefly involved. The young lady was a senior, and to be truthful, I felt that I was challenged.
There is an old friendship between the Young and Hyde families, going back to the previous generation of Youngs and Hydes sixty and seventy years ago. Under the present circumstances, after three weeks of shock and stress, I feel comforted by our legal counsel.
I am explaining these matters to you, the people, because I know that the British peer will go on to prove to you exactly what I have been telling you about white supremacy for 38 years. Things will get worse. We will leave the issue of his Uncle Toms out of it. My point is that you need to know where we are at Kremandala, because we have never been anything without you.
Power to the people.