Conventional politics or revolution: Black Power and the radical challenge to the Westminster model in the Caribbean

Abstract

This paper examines one of the most significant antecedents to, and influences on, the Grenada Revolution: the Black Power movement in Trinidad and Tobago. Focusing on the National Joint Action Committee and the New Beginning Movement, it examines their critiques of the Westminster model of governance, and the alternatives they offered. It considers whether these critiques gave rise to any political reforms in Trinidad, and asks whether the apparent failure of the Black Power movement to bring about radical political change testifies to the legitimacy and robustness of the Westminster model in the Trinidadian context. In so doing, it sheds light on the lesser known political dimensions of Caribbean Black Power; provides a regional perspective on the ideological currents feeding into the Grenada Revolution; and highlights the existence of Caribbean political thought and practice that looked beyond Westminster to conceive alternative forms of democracy and political participation.

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