oct 16, 1968 - Walter Rodney Riots
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Walter Rodney was a Guyanese scholar who played a pivotal role in the aftermath of Jamaican Independence. He became the first lecture of African history at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and he did not limit his knowledge to the confines of traditional learning spaces. He gave the very same lectures he would typically deliver at UWI in the countryside to Jamaican commonfolk. Black history was in demand all over Jamaica (not just in the university) and Rodney filled that demand.
On October 15, 1968, Rodney was denied re-entry into Jamaica. He had been out of town to speak at the Congress of Black Writers in Montreal, Canada. In response to his banning, Jamaican students and unemployed youth marched in protest. These marches ended in rioting. Although the riots were suppressed, this movement did result in the publishing of the Abeng newspaper, a student-run publication that formed to discuss the ongoing question of independence (namely, the need for economic and social revolution).
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1968 A Year In Review Final Timeline
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