The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

By all accounts, Edmund Moxey was indeed a great man. Whenever you take a stand for what you believe, the time will come when you will be tested to see just how firmly your feet are planted.

Today we have a society that teaches to

compromise principles for profit. Ed Moxey was not such a man.

He believed in standing for what he believed in no matter the consequence.

It takes a special level of evil to not only destroy a man but also his children.

Not only was Mr. Moxey not able to find work in his various trades and talents but

his children were also not allowed to work in their beloved country. One would think that after all that was done to him, this current PLP government would go overboard to accommodate Mr. Moxey and his family. However, this government refused to air the live state recognized funeral of Mr Moxey.

Just a few weeks ago, there was live three hour coverage of King Eric’s funeral.

Mr. Moxey was not just a former parliamentarian, but won his seat January 10, 1967 when every seat mattered to usher in majority rule. He was also around during the formation of the PLP party. To make matters worse, Prime Minister

Christie in his remarks at the funeral said that it was Mr. Moxey who was instrumental in introducing him to politics.

He said that Mr. Moxey took him to a meeting of a group called the National Committee for Positive Action (NCPA) which was a think tank and pressure group of the PLP. He said that he would honour

Mr. Moxey by putting the Jumbey Village concept into Urban Renewal. What does that mean? As usual, absolutely nothing. How could he stand before the body of Mr. Moxey and look his family in the eyes and be so disingenuous.

It was right for someone in the audience to shout out “SHAME”.

It seems to me that the PLP would love for the memory of Edmund Moxey to die with him.

They do not want anyone to know what wrong their leaders did to him and his family. It seems like they love to rewrite history from their perspective

showing them as great heroes. They even tried to duplicate Jumbey Village at Fort

Charlotte. It did not work because you cannot duplicate passion and commitment of a pioneer.

The real heroes in Bahamian history are those like Mr. Moxey who did not talk about a concept but actually went out and did it and brought many

along despite the obstacles.

It is time for this country to move forward to a higher level of maturity. My only regret is that Mr. Moxey did not write a book to tell the history of events from his perspective. We must find a way to tangibly honour this cultural giant.

I therefore support the call to name the road between Thompson Boulevard and Baillou Hill Road the Edmund Moxey Highway.

I also support renaming the Big Pond redevelopment Jumbey Village.

JOHN BROWN

Nassau,

August 4, 2014.