In the districts, most people used pit latrines. There were no high schools in the districts in the first half of the twentieth century. People in the districts felt that they had to come to Belize (City) for everything, and, as we mentioned, those journeys back and forth were hellish. Apart from the travelling itself, Carib people, who mostly lived in the Stann Creek and Toledo Districts, and Mestizo people, who mostly lived in the Orange Walk and Corozal District, were treated as inferior by the majority Creole element who dominated Belize (City).

The elite of the Creoles in the first half of the twentieth century were the civil servants (now called ?public officers?) who ran the government departments for the British administration. The civil servants were, however, a minority. The majority of the Creoles were hard workers who toiled for low wages in the mahogany camps, at the sawmills, on the waterfront and in the public works department.

The history and situation of British Honduras were unique, because this was the only British possession on the ?Spanish Main?. This was the only territory in Central America with a majority black population who spoke English. We were surrounded by Latin republics which had histories of violent revolution after violent revolution. Not only that, these republics were much, much larger than us. Mexico was 400 times bigger than us; Guatemala was 50 times bigger than us; Honduras 30 to 40 times bigger than us.

We were poor, as the republics were, but we lived a peaceful life in British Honduras, which was not the case in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. In this territory, we treasured life because we were so few. Murderers were looked upon as monsters in those days, and were quickly hanged. As the nationalist revolution of 1950 proved, however, the majority of our people had many reasons to dislike the British, but we treasured the peace, the law and order which existed in the colony. This peace, this law and order, were important to us, because to the north, the west and the south, it seemed as if there was always violence and disorder.

In this issue of our newspaper we have produced the patriotic songs of the colony, because these are a part of our people?s history in this territory. All this music and these lyrics were written in the first half of the twentieth century, as far as we know. The common themes are love for our country and pride in our ancestors.

There are some of these lyrics which surely can be criticized as being pro-British, but this was the mood at that time. The British were our protection against the chaos we felt around us, and again, during this time the British won two World Wars – (1914?1918) and (1939-1945). The British were respected in the colony, and they deserved that respect.

Black people in this country, across class lines, now feel that attacks upon the Tenth of September are attacks upon us as black people and attacks upon our history in this territory. George Price has made his point. Black people are now a minority, but we know that we built this country, and we do not want to be disrespected.

The matter of black people in Belize who were Anglophiles has been dealt with by the UBAD movement (1969-1974). Garveyism was very strong in British Honduras in the 1920?s, but it was sidetracked after Garvey was jailed and his movement destroyed. During the 1930?s and 1940?s, a lot of Belizean Garveyites became pro-British because of the fear of the Latin republics around us. The UBAD generation, however, rejected white supremacy in all its forms, and moved on to a Belizean nationalism which stressed the unity of all our ethnic groups.

September is a month of patriotism in Belize. In the old capital, September was the month when we left from all our humble homes in the back of town, and made our way to the front of the city. We were dressed in our finest garments in those days and nights at Courthouse Wharf, Battlefield Park, Memorial Park and Newtown Barracks. The rest of the year we were nobody, but in September we were somebody. That is the legacy of the Tenth for the masses of our people.

Our children need to see the continuity of the processes which brought us to where we are. In the words of the poet, ?All must be listed and counted as brave.?

Power to the people.