Constitution ushers in new era
Bermuda entered a new political era when the Constitution came into effect on June 2, 1968. It enshrined freedoms in law for ordinary citizens and established the framework for a more advanced system of government, along with full universal adult suffrage.
The Constitution had been thrashed out in London in 1966 by a 20-strong delegation comprising representatives of the United Bermuda Party, the Progressive Labour Party and independents, with Britain’s Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, presiding.
The UBP delegation, led by Sir Henry Tucker [pictured above] got more of what it wanted—40 seats instead of 36, which the PLP favoured, and constituency boundaries that the PLP said enhanced the political dominance of the white minority.
The PLP, led by lawyer Walter Robinson, refused to sign the majority report, and wrote a separate minority report instead.
Read Bermuda's Constitution.
Sources: The Royal Gazette, May 30, 1968; Lois—Bermuda’s Grande Dame of Politics by J. Randolf Williams.
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Lance Hayward
Musician
(June 17, 1916-November 9,1991)
Blind from infancy and self-taught, Lance Hayward was a hugely talented pianist who achieved success in Bermuda and the US.
Born into a musical family, he played the piano from childhood. He played on the hotel circuit both in Jamaica and in Bermuda and was sought after as an accompanist by the likes of visiting singers such as Carmen McRae, Arthur Prysock and Joe Williams.
But as a black Bermudian musician, he had to contend with job insecurity. In 1966, he moved to New York where he worked with influential musicians and enjoyed a loyal following as the house pianist at the Village Corner in Greenwich Village.
He was the first featured Bermudian artist to perform at the Bermuda Festival snd he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement by the Bermuda Arts Council. His obituary was carried in the New York Times.
Source: Triumph of the Spirit—the Heroes and Heroines of Bermuda, edited by Dale Butler, Second Edition.
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