Winston Bernard Coard (born 10 August 1944) is a Grenadian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister in the

People's Revolutionary Government The People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only socialist state within Commonwealth of Nati ...

(PRG) of the New Jewel Movement. In 1983, Coard launched a coup within the PRG and briefly took power until he was himself deposed by General Hudson Austin.

Education

Bernard Coard, the son of Frederick McDermott Coard (1893–1978) and Flora Fleming (1907–2004), was born in Victoria, Grenada. He is connected to Grenada's prestigious Cenac family: a first cousin of the Honorable Justice Dunbar Cenac (1939–2023) of the Eastern Caribbean High Court, and a nephew of Dennis Vivian Cenac, a former solicitor in the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court. Coard was attending the

Grenada Boys' Secondary School The Grenada Boys' Secondary School (GBSS) is a secondary school on the island of Grenada. Origins The Grenada Boys' Secondary School, initially known as St. George's Grammar School, opened on 2 February 1885 with ten male students at Mrs. Grey's p ...

when he met Maurice Bishop, who was then attending Presentation Brothers' College. Coard and Bishop shared an interest in

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

from an early age. They became friends and in 1962 they co-founded the Grenada Assembly of Youth After Truth. Twice per month, the two would lead political debates in St. George's Central Market Place. Coard left Grenada for the United States, where he studied sociology and economics at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and joined the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

. In 1967, he moved to England and studied

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. That year, he married his wife Phyllis while they were students in England, and Coard joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

Teaching career

He worked for two years as a schoolteacher in London and ran several

youth organisation The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

s in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. In 1971, he published a 50-page booklet '' How the West Indian Child Is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System: The Scandal of the Black Child in Schools in Britain''. It explained that British schools had a pervasive bias toward treating white children as normal, which led to black children being labeled as " educationally subnormal" (learning-disabled). Coard wrote:

The lackchildren are therefore made neurotic about their race and culture. Some become behaviour problems as a result. They become resentful and bitter at being told their language is second-rate, and their history and culture is non-existent; that they hardly exist at all, except by the grace of whites.

Coard's thesis was widely cited, even long after his revolutionary career, as a summary of the role of

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...

in the relationship between race and intelligence. In 2005, it was republished as the central article in the collection ''Tell it Like it is: How Our Schools Fail Black Children''. A 2021

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

documentary entitled ''Subnormal: A British Scandal'' describes the events surrounding the racism of a leaked school report, leading to the publication of Coard's booklet. Produced/directed by Lyttanya Shannon, and executive produced by Steve McQueen, the film features interviews with people who were put into ESN schools, and activists, academics and psychologists and others who worked to expose the scandal at the time, such as Gus John and Waveney Bushell. In a 2021 article, Coard concluded that, 50 years after the ESN scandal was exposed, "the substance ... of the educational suppression of Caribbean-origin children remains". After completing his doctorate at Sussex, Coard moved to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. From 1972 to 1974, he was a visiting lecturer at the Institute of International Relations in the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

at St. Augustine,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. He also lectured from 1974 to 1976 at the

Mona, Jamaica Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica, Saint Andrew Parish, approximately eight kilometres from Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugarcane Sugar plantations in the Caribbean, plantation, it is the sit ...

campus of the University of the West Indies. During his stay in Jamaica, he joined the communist Worker's Liberation League and helped draft the League's

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

Revolution

In January 1974, Coard returned to Grenada, which was then in the midst of a popular uprising against the government of Prime Minister Eric Gairy. Coard became active in Grenadian politics. He joined the New Jewel Movement (NJM), the left-wing organization co-founded by his childhood friend Maurice Bishop. Coard ran for and won a parliamentary seat in St. George's in the 1976 elections. The NJM, led by Bishop, successfully carried out a bloodless coup against Eric Gairy's government on 13 March 1979. The radio station, military barracks and police stations were targeted. Before long, the revolutionaries had control of the entire island. The NJM then announced the temporary suspension of the constitution and parliamentary rule. Influenced by

Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...

such as

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, Bishop established the

(PRG) of Grenada with himself as Prime Minister. Aid from Cuba allowed the PRG to build Point Salines International Airport, a new international airport with a

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

. In 1980, Coard headed a delegation to Moscow to formalize Grenada's relations with the Soviet Union.

Removal and murder of Bishop

Bernard Coard served as the PRG's Minister of Finance, Trade and Industry, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister under Bishop. In a factional challenge to Bishop's leadership, Coard ordered Bishop to be placed under house arrest on 13 October 1983, and Coard took control of the government. As word spread of Bishop's confinement, large demonstrations broke out across the island, including one in the capital that freed Bishop from house arrest. He and the demonstrators made their way to the army headquarters at Fort Rupert (known today as Fort George). However, Bishop and seven others, including several PRG cabinet ministers, were killed soon thereafter, under unclear circumstances, by firing squad in the Fort Rupert courtyard. Coard's reign did not last long. He was quickly ousted by General Hudson Austin, who nominally ruled the country for six days. Just after US Marines landed in Grenada, Coard, along with his wife Phyllis, Selwyn Strachan, John Ventour, Liam James and Keith Roberts, were arrested.

Trial and prison

They were tried in August 1986 on charges of ordering the murder of Maurice Bishop and seven others. Coard was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

in 1991. He served his sentence in Richmond Hill Prison, where he was engaged in teaching and instructing fellow inmates in many subjects, including economics and sociology. In September 2004, the prison in which he was held was damaged by Hurricane Ivan and many inmates took the opportunity to flee, but Coard said he chose not to escape, saying he would not leave until his name was cleared.

Release

On 7 February 2007, the London-based Privy Council ordered a re-sentencing of Coard and the others convicted for the 1983 killing of Bishop and some of his cabinet colleagues. The re-sentencing hearing began on 18 June 2007. On 27 June, the judge gave Coard and his fellow defendants a 30-year sentence, which included the time already spent in prison. On 5 September 2009, Coard was released from prison. Upon release he said he did not want to be involved in politics again. Bernard Coard has three children.

Publications

* '' How the West Indian Child Is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System: The Scandal of the Black Child in Schools in Britain'', 1971. * ''The Grenada Revolution: What Really Happened?: Volume 1'', 2017. * ''Forward Ever: Journey To A New Grenada: 2 (The Grenada Revolution)'', 2018. * ''SKYRED: A Tale Of Two Revolutions: 3 (The Grenada Revolution)'', 2020.

References

External links

The Grenada Revolution OnlineThe Lost Bishop Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coard, Bernard 1944 births Living people 20th-century Grenadian politicians Academic staff of the University of the West Indies Alumni of the University of Sussex Anti-revisionists Brandeis University alumni Communist Party of Great Britain members Deputy prime ministers of Grenada Finance ministers of Grenada Grenadian communists Grenadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Grenadian male writers Grenadian people convicted of murder Grenadian prisoners sentenced to death Grenadian schoolteachers Heads of government who were later imprisoned Leaders ousted by a coup Leaders who took power by coup New Jewel Movement politicians People convicted of murder by Grenada People from Saint Mark Parish, Grenada Prisoners sentenced to death by Grenada Schoolteachers from London