Published: Trinidad Guardian
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Of course everyone will be celebrating Tubal Uriah Butler today for launching the modern labour movement, and maybe a few hats will be tipped to his deputy Adrian Cola Rienzi, who continued the struggle through legal avenues.
But it is about time Trinis give recognition to the calypsonian and pan pioneer who led the strikers, Rudolph Xavier, who was shot and sentenced for it while Butler was in hiding.
Born in 1911, Xavier, who passed away in the 1990s, was the second youngest of his seven siblings. They lived in Besson Street, Port-of-Spain. His mother was a vendor in the market.
When I met him years ago, he shared one of his most vivid memories of the nearby quarry from those days.
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Rudolph Xavier - a pioneer and an heroic fighter for the working man and woman in the Caribbean! Long Live Uriah Butler!