Eric Williams and E. Franklin Frazier

In 1943 Dr. Eric Williams, a thirty-one year old Assistant Professor of Political and Social Science at Howard University, organised a conference on "The Economic Future of the Caribbean". Williams, a rising star in intellectual and activist circles, brought together an eclectic and influential group of experts to debate the conference theme. Speakers included advocates of independence for Puerto Rico, leaders of the pro-democracy movement among Caribbean Americans, scholars, diplomats and the top brass of the British and United States sections of the newly-formed Anglo-American Caribbean Commission. Participants discussed the dominance of sugar throughout the region, the need for agricultural diversification, the fisheries industry and the media. They also examined race relations, the future of colonialism and teh prospects for Caribbean federation. The proceedings were published under the editorship of Williams and E. Franklin Frazier, Professor of Sociology and Chairman of teh Division of Social Sciences at Howard.

In a new introduction to teh current reprint of teh conference proceedings, Tony Martin for the first time reveals Williams' use of this conference as a major component of his strategy to gain employment in the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission. Williams already saw his scholarship as merely a prelude to a political career and the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission presented an unprecedented opportunity for him to make his much desired transition from academia to policy-making. Revealed here for the first time also is Williams' employment with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), immediate forerunner of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency(CIA).

Paperback
101 pages
The Majority Press
ISBN: 0912469374