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by Whitman T. Browne (Author)
For people who were poor, black, and from the working-class, growing up in a British Caribbean colony during the 1900s, was a very difficult experience. However, from about the 1930s, enlightenment, ideological challenges, and change were finding sound footing in the area, more than ever before. During that time, British control and exploitation of the islands were being disrupted and challenged aggressively, by labor unionists, and Pan Africanists. Further, by the mid-1900s, the British interest in, and their ability to manage the islands successfully, were failing. At that time, there was the disruptive political thrust from local labor unionists for changes in the islands' story. That emerging new leadership saw and promoted education as a necessary path to the future, for working-class people in the islands. After the author learned to read, having been encouraged by an older sister, he read widely from the books available, and his life began to experience transformation. The author noted that his love for reading, plus a growing exposure to education, initiated the change and inspiration beyond the limiting society and thinking, into which he was born. In time, Whitman's academic push helped him to become an educator, mountain climber, long distance swimmer, photographer, and more. In all the changes which have come to the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, he sees the local leaders' push against the evils of British colonialism. In time, there was enlightenment and growth from education, also through the love and inspiration of God. Those were major forces which contributed to the reformation now seen in lives, and around the islands. In this book, My Birth Was Not Destiny, the author looks back at his life in Nevis, and beyond. He attributes his successes to focused struggles, the illuminating power of education, and God's continuing intent to intervene in human lives, always for good. Dr. Browne also expresses a truth that his children, students, the community, and the wider world, as a result of education and careful academic concentration, can in time, learn, grow, have their own sense of a transformative experience, as their lives become inspired and refashioned. Over time, they too will reach toward the future, intending to leave special markings on the sands of their time.
