How did lighterman Mr. Macdonald Burke manage to end his day with one less body part than he began with? Take a trip with us as we travel to December 18, 1951, when a most memorable brawl went down in Bay Street.

Last week we told the story of Winston Hall’s unfair murder charge as well as his torture by the police in order to extract a confession from him and his comrades Peter Bradshaw, Errol Bradshaw and David Oliver. This murder of Cyril Sisnett was an extremely high profile one and no doubt influenced both the court and the police involved in the trial. We then explained his daring escape from the clutches of the police and his remarkable run from the law that lasted over four years in two different countries. However, Winston Hall’s story only gets crazier from here.

Image: Ramsay, Kim L. Barbados' Most Wanted. Barbados: Kim Ramsey, 2018. Pg 81

Winston Hall like many others, grew up a poor black boy in Suriname St Joseph during the 1970s. Like many others he was incredibly intelligent and was denied the chance to foster this intelligence due to a lack of opportunity. Like many others, his education ended after he graduated secondary school. Like many others, he turned to a life of petty crime in order to sustain himself. Like many others he was influenced by the race relations of the island, wherein the white community not only owned a majority of the land, they were privy to wealth, services and opportunity while the majority of the black population still used pit latrines. This is to say Winston Hall was like any man from this time and is far more a product of his incredible circumstances than any villainous intent.

Image: Hall, Rommel. Winston Hall. Photograph. Loop News. August 22, 2017. https://barbados.loopnews.com/content/winston-hall-documentary-pays-homage-legend

Born in February 1951. An interesting man, mustering more energy and bluster than a man of far lesser years, he has lived an interesting life both in Barbados, and the United States. His art career is similarly interesting and well documented, and through this one can see the changes that has occurred in him over the years, both physically and mentally, producing the man known as Clermont Mapp today.

Image: Glasgow, Akini. Clermont Mapp In His Studio. Photograph. The Standpipe. March 7, 2022

It is quite well known that research is influenced by population size, financial wellbeing, relevancy in the world conversation, technology and overall opportunity. The Caribbean on a whole does not have these particular luxuries, whether it be a large population, popularity or opportunity, Barbados even less so. The Centre for Hybrid Studies intends to change that, aiming to not only raise the research culture in the country but also impart the understanding that all research done about the country is intrinsically linked.

Image: The Spirit Bond. Photograph. The Barbados Pocket Guide. (n.d). https://www.barbadospocketguide.com/our-island-barbados/plants/trees-fruit/item/526-tamarind-tree.html

“Women are Justices of the Peace. They ought to be allowed to serve as jurors.” - Barbados Advocate 1950

The road to gender equality in Barbados has been far from easy. This blog gives a glimpse into the obstacles faced by women in the mid-20th century in relation to public service, with a special look at Mrs. Evelyn Talma.

Image: https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/UF00098964/02832/4j?search=barbados+%3dadvocate+%3djanuary+%3d10

Born to a enslaved African mother and her white owner, being a black woman born in the 1700s not only disadvantaged Rachel Pringle Polgreen on the terms of being black, but also due to her womanhood. Yet she managed in her short 38 years not only to survive but to thrive albeit briefly, becoming the first black woman to own a tavern in Barbados.

Image: Rowlandson, Thomas. Rachel Pringle Polgreen. Photograph. BlackPast. 1796. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/polgreen-rachel-pringle-1753-1791/

Barbados is experiencing a creative explosion of sorts in the recent years. Music has always been at the forefront of the cultural experience as soca and calypso developed alongside the festivals we experience in the country. Writing as well has a long standing tradition in Barbados. However, unlike these two creative styles physical art has had a more recent history and this is largely due to one man, Karl Broodhagen.

Image: Karl Broodhagen. Photograph. Totally Barbados. (n.d.). https://www.totallybarbados.com/articles/about-barbados/people/meet-a-bajan/karl-broodhagen/#.Yht0KmkrlPw

St. Joseph, Tourism and Canned Food? What could these three possibly have to do with this story? Click to find out.

Image: Stanley, David. Bathsheba. Photograph. Flickr. January 7, 2019. https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/47775682471/in/photostream