Ivy Joshua

Ivy Joshua (25 December 1924 – 1992) was a Grenadian-born seamstress and politician, who was the first woman elected to serve in the Legislative Council of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines when universal suffrage was granted. Though she won her seat in six consecutive election cycles, with a substantial majority each time she ran, Joshua was often the target of politically-based inquiries and investigations. She served in the legislature from 1958 to 1979 and simultaneously on the Executive Council from 1960 when she was appointed as the Minister of Social Services. Joshua served from 1961 to 1964 and again from 1967 to 1972 as a Minister without portfolio, before being appointed as Parliamentary Secretary and later Leader of the Opposition.

Ivy Joshua
from Ebony, October 1967
Born	Ivy Inez McQueen (1924-12-25)25 December 1924 Grenada
Died	1992 (aged 67–68) Kingstown, Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Other names	Ivy Inez Joshua
Occupation	trade unionist, politician
Years active	1952–1979
Known for	first woman parliamentarian in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Early life

Ivy Inez McQueen was born on 25 December 1924 in Grenada to Cecile (née Neckles) McQueen. After receiving a basic education, she moved to Trinidad and Tobago, where she met Ebenezer Joshua. The couple relocated to British Guiana in 1943, where they were married before returning two years later to Trinidad to work as union organizers. Working in the trade union movement founded by Tubal Uriah Butler,[1] the Joshuas were invited to return to Ebenezer's homeland, of Saint Vincent in March 1951 to assist George Hamilton Charles in organizing the laborers of the United Workers, Peasants and Rate Payers Union (UWPRPU).[2]

Career

Charles and Ebenezer Joshua formed the political arm of the UWPRPU, which they called the Eighth Army of Liberation. Ivy Joshua was one of the key organizers of the movement, mobilizing workers to participate in the first elections after universal suffrage was granted on the island in 1951.[1][3][4] In addition, she worked as a seamstress and ran a store, which held a liquor license.[5][6] After winning the election in a landslide victory, the Eighth Army dissolved over political differences. Joshua was instrumental in assisting Ebenezer with the formation of the Federated Industrial Allied Workers Union (FIAWU), representing agricultural and waterfront workers, in 1952. With the development of the FIAWU, a new political party, People’s Political Party, (PPP) was launched.[1][3][4] Joshua walked from village to village with Ebenezer, presenting their plea for labor organization and decolonization.[7] She also led strikes between 1951 and 1957 to gain recognition for the union and to improve the conditions of the workers, primarily in the sugar factories.[4][8]

In 1954, the Joshuas' new party won three of the eight seats and in the following election, Joshua stood as a candidate in the elections, becoming one of the first women to contest an election.[1] On 24 September 1957, Joshua was confirmed as the assembly member for the North Windward Electoral District of Saint Vincent,[9] becoming the first woman to serve in the island's Legislative Council.[10] As both she and her husband won seats in the election, they became the first couple in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (and possibly the British West Indies) to hold office at the same time.[10] Labor relations had cooled and there were no strikes between 1957 and 1961.[8] Joshua was appointed as Minister of Social Services, overseeing education and housing in 1960.[1] She was reelected for the same district in 1961,[11] appointed as a Minister without portfolio[1] and repeated the feat in 1964,[1] winning by wide margins.[12] In 1962, she was one of the leaders of the FIAWU strike over holiday pay at the Mt. Bentinck Sugar Factory, which eventually led to the closure of the plant.[1][8]

Joshua was forced to resign her position in the cabinet in 1964,[13] though she retained her legislative seat,[1] when the Colonial Secretary, Duncan Sandys and George Thompson, MP of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom brought questions in the London Parliament over her handling of the Public Works Department.[14] Though standard practice in the 1960s for ministers across the Caribbean to trade jobs in the public works department for political support, when Joshua tried to place her supporters, she was called before a commission of inquiry. She resigned, but was found guilty of irregularities and misuse of public funds.[1] That same year, she and Ebenezer worked to resolve a labor dispute for the dockworkers who were members of FIAWU. Installation of a conveyor belt from the dock to the ships, had caused alarm over whether dockworkers would be discharged and the Joshuas were able to negotiate an agreement to protect the workers.[15]

In 1966, Joshua was reelected with 82% of the vote.[16] A petition was filed contesting the election by Milton Cato, of the Saint Vincent Labor Party, (SVLP), which had lost the election to Ebenezer Joshua's PPP by one vote. Cato alleged that Ivy Joshua was illiterate and without being able to read and write was incapable of understanding parliamentary procedure. Counter-charges were filed against SVLP member Levi Latham by Ebenezer Joshua, alleging he too was illiterate.[17] Both Joshua and Latham were required to take literacy tests in October 1966.[18] Most of the public saw the repeated attacks on Joshua as a witch-hunt by her political opponents[19] and ironically Cato was later accused of corruption for trading votes for jobs, which he had berated Joshua for having done.[20]

In 1969, Joshua was arrested along with five other people and charged with conspiring to set fire to the Public Works Department.[21] The charges appeared to be politically motivated, as at the time Saint Vincent had just gained political autonomy, as one of the West Indies Associated States, though it would not gain full independence for another decade.[1][22][23] The entire Caribbean region at the time was marked by unrest, with an increase in British military activity to suppress political upheaval. A British frigate was sent from Bermuda at the time of Joshua's arrest to try to reduce the tension.[23] On the day of Joshua's trial, a mass protest was held, calling for new elections, with the demonstrators marching to the Kingstown Court House.[24] Both of the Joshuas, boycotted the statehood celebration, in protest over the failure to call new elections once St. Vincent's status from colony changed.[25]

The election of 1972 resulted in a tied vote with each of the parties receiving six seats. A unity government, with an independent, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell as Premier was formed[10] and Joshua was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary by the Governor Rupert Godfrey John.[26] When the unity government fell apart in 1974, new elections were held and Joshua was again elected. She vehemently opposed forming another unity government and was appointed as Leader of the Opposition. As her husband had also been reelected to his seat and agreed to cooperate in a unity government, it was the first time in Saint Vincent political history that a husband and wife served on opposing sides in Parliament.[10]

Joshua won her seat in six consecutive elections, each time winning by a substantial majority, amid staunch opposition and politically-based attacks.[12][27] Her first loss came in the 1979 election, when both she and Ebenezer lost their bids. In 1986, Joshua was recognized by the National Council of Women of SVG for her pioneering role in politics and as an advocate for the working class.[1]

Death and legacy

Joshua died in 1992, a year after Ebenezer. Though he was nominated as a National Hero of the islands, her role as his partner and as one of the few women who successfully broke political molds went largely unrecognized until the 21-st century. A highway in northern Saint Vincent bears her name.[1]

References

Citations

1. Martin 2016.
2. Alexander & Parker 2004, p. 211.
3. Westfield 2012, p. 89.
4. Dawson 2004, p. 42.
5. The Saint Vincent Government Gazette 1954, p. 119.
6. The Saint Vincent Government Gazette 1973, p. 178.
7. Westfield 2012, p. 97.
8. Gooding 2015.
9. The Saint Vincent Government Gazette 1957, p. 367.
10. Dawson 2006, p. 58.
11. The Saint Vincent Government Gazette 1961, p. 143.
12. Barriteau 2001, p. 66.
13. The Gleaner 1964, p. 21.
14. The Dominica Herald 1964a, p. 5.
15. The Dominica Herald 1964b, p. 1.
16. The Star 1966b, p. 3.
17. The Star 1966a, p. 2.
18. The Star 1966c, p. 3.
19. Westfield 2012, p. 92.
20. Westfield 2012, p. 155.
21. The Star 1969, p. 1.
22. The Gleaner 1969, p. 25.
23. Swan 2009, p. 56.
24. McDonald 1969, p. 2.
25. The Gleaner 1969, p. 34.
26. The Saint Vincent Government Gazette 1972, p. 218.
27. John 2015.

Bibliography

• Alexander, Robert J.; Parker, Eldon M. (2004). A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-275-97743-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Barriteau, Eudine V. (2001). The Political Economy of Gender in the Twentieth-Century Caribbean. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-0-230-50816-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dawson, Veta (28 November 2006). "The 'Saints' are on the way". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. p. 58. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dawson, Veta (12 October 2004). "Women in Organisations". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. p. 42. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gooding, Calvin Terry (2015). "Mt Bentinck Sugar Factory". Georgetown SVG Revisited. England. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• John, Kenneth (18 December 2015). "The electoral track or the slippery slope to hell". Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: The Vincentian. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Martin, Afi A. (2016). "Joshua, Ivy Inez (1924–1992), politician and trade unionist". In Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Jr, Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-93580-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)  – via Oxford University Press's Reference Online (subscription required)
• McDonald, Frank (23 May 1969). "St. Vincent: Independence 1969?" (PDF). Institution of Current World Affairs. New York, New York. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Swan, Quito (2009). Black Power in Bermuda: The Struggle for Decolonization. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-10218-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Westfield, Alwyn W. (May 2012). The impact of leadership on politics and Ebenezer Theodore Joshua and Robert Milton Cato (PhD). Atlanta, Georgia: Clark Atlanta University. paper #306. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Robert W. Woodruff Library, ETD Collection.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "St. Vincent: Election Petition's [sic] Filed". Roseau, Dominica: The Star. 24 September 1966a. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "Appointment of Parliamentary Secretary". The Saint Vincent Government Gazette. Kingstown, St. Vincent, BWI: Government of Saint Vincent. 105 (22): 218. 18 April 1972.
• "Government Notices: The Legislative Council". The Saint Vincent Government Gazette. Kingstown, St. Vincent, BWI: Government of Saint Vincent. 90 (47): 367. 24 September 1957.
• "Government Notices: The Legislative Council". The Saint Vincent Government Gazette. Kingstown, St. Vincent, BWI: Government of Saint Vincent. 94 (23): 143. 2 May 1961.
• "Particulars of Applicants for New Certificates". The Saint Vincent Government Gazette. Kingstown, St. Vincent, BWI: Government of Saint Vincent. 87 (22): 119. 6 April 1954.
• "Particulars of Applicants for New Certificates". The Saint Vincent Government Gazette. Kingstown, St. Vincent, BWI: Government of Saint Vincent. 106 (29): 178. 22 May 1973.
• "Mrs. Joshua not bitter but disappointed". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. 10 March 1964. p. 21. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
• "St. Vincent Conveyor Dispute Resolved". Roseau, Dominica: The Dominica Herald. 30 May 1964b. p. 1. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "St. Vincent Dilemma Over Mrs. Joshua". Roseau, Dominica: The Dominica Herald. 15 February 1964a. p. 5. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "St. Vincent Elections: Cato Just Misses Victory". Roseau, Dominica: The Star. 27 August 1966b. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "St. Vincent Fire Case". Roseau, Dominica: The Star. 26 April 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "Trouble in St. Vincent". Roseau, Dominica: The Star. 8 October 1966c. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
• "St. Vincent newest Associated State (pt 1)". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. 28 October 1969. p. 25. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com. and "St. Vincent newest Associated State (pt 2)". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. 28 October 1969. p. 34. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.