Clement Osbourne Payne (1904 – 7 April 1941)"Payne, Clement", in Keith A. P. Sandiford, ''A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora'', Hansib Publications, 2008, p. 363."Clement Osbourne Payne"
The OAS Children's Corner. was a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

-born pioneer in the Caribbean trade union movement. By an act of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

in 1998, Payne was named as one of the eleven National Heroes of Barbados.

Biography

Payne was born in

in 1904 to Barbadian parents who moved back to Barbados when he was four years old. Payne attended Bay Street Boys' School, and subsequently worked for some years as a junior clerk. In 1927 he returned to Trinidad, where as an advocate of social justice he was involved with the growth of militant trade unionism. In

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Cit ...

, capital of Barbados, in 1937, Payne led black Barbadians to resist the white planter class. He organized several public meetings and aroused the ire of the police and government. Payne was put under observation until finally he was charged with making a false statement. The claim was that he had identified himself as Barbadian upon his re-entry at the Port, while actually being Trinidadian. Payne initially represented himself and entered a not-guilty plea. After an adjournment, he was found guilty, but Payne appealed the conviction and won. Despite this, on 26 July 1937, he was ordered to leave the country. At this point his supporters hired

Grantley Herbert Adams Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC (28 April 1898 – 28 November 1971) was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federa ...

as his attorney. Adams advised him to comply with the deportation and he was secreted away in the early morning on a boat to Trinidad. After Payne was deported, four days of rioting ensued, during which stores were burned and looted and cars pushed into the sea."Barbados riots 1937", in E. L. Bute and H. J. P. Harmer, ''The Black Handbook: The People, History and Politics of Africa and the African Diaspora'', London & Washington: Casssell, 1997; p. 74. The police opened fire, killing 14 demonstrators and wounding 47. The rioting led to a political commission of inquiry (the

Moyne Commission The Report of West India Royal Commission, also known as The Moyne Report, was published fully in 1945 and exposed the poor living conditions in Britain's Caribbean colonies. Following the British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939, the Imperi ...

) to investigate the situation in Barbados and other

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Gre ...

colonies. The Moyne Commission determined that all of Payne's charges against the island's rulers were accurate. In its

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

, it insisted on reforms that Payne had proposed, including the introduction of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

legislation. Payne died at the age of 37 in 1941.

Legacy

The Clement Payne Movement is a leftist Barbadian political party named after Payne. The

Clement Payne Cultural Centre Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. Other uses * ...

was set up in Barbados in 1989 to perpetuate his memory and to continue his work of enlightening Barbadians about their history and struggle. There is a Clement Payne Memorial Bust in Golden Square, Bridgetown.

References

External links

Clement Payne on the Barbadian national site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Clement 1941 deaths Barbadian activists Barbadian communists National Heroes of Barbados Barbadian expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago 1904 births