Samuel Haynes (1899 - 1971) was a Belizean soldier, activist and poet best known for writing the national anthem of Belize, '' Land of the Free''.

Life and career

He was a leader of the 1919 riot by Belizean soldiers who had fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and refused to accept racial discrimination back home. In 1929, he composed the words of a poem named "Land of the Gods". In 1930 with the assistance of Selvyn Young, “Land of the Gods,” was composed into a musical arrangement, first used in 10th of September celebrations before becoming Belize's national anthem, " Land of the Free". Also, prominent in the Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, Haynes was once the President of the Pittsburgh Division, editor/writer for the '' Negro World'' and for a brief period the Official American Representative for the UNIA-ACL 1929 under the Honorable Marcus Garvey.

References

Sources

"BELIZE : Belize National Anthem - Land of the Free"

1899 births 1971 deaths Belizean poets Belizean military personnel National anthem writers Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League members British West Indies Regiment soldiers 20th-century Belizean writers British Honduras activists Belizean activists {{NorthAm-mil-bio-stub