Kenneth John

Kenneth Randolph Vincent John (17 April 1938 – 3 July 2021) was a Vincentian lawyer and newspaper columnist. His column "This Week" appeared in national weekly The Vincentian over a period of thirty-nine years.

Biography

Kenneth Randolph Vincent John was born on 17 April 1938^[1] in Rose Place.^[2] He received a B.Sc. in Government from the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, and a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Manchester. He also trained as a barrister.^[3]

From 1964 to 1967, he served as the first Resident Tutor for the University of the West Indies Department of Extra–Mural Studies^[4] (predecessor of the modern-day UWI Open Campus)^[5] in St Vincent and the Grenadines. During his time as Resident Tutor, he oversaw the introduction of 'O' Level examinations in rural areas of the country, and organised public lectures on regional and foreign affairs. He also founded the literary and political magazine Flambeau.^[4]

John, Parnel Campbell, Eddie Griffith, Kerwin Morris and John Cato founded the Education Forum of the People (EFP) in 1969. This organisation became the Democratic Freedom Movement party^[6] in 1974,^[7] with John as its leader. The new party participated in that year's elections, unsuccessfully contesting two seats.^[8][9] He later served as Chairman of the Public Services Commission.^[10] In December 1982, John began writing a column called "This Week" for The Vincentian.^[11][12] He wrote through 2019, and the paper continued with reprints of older columns.^[13]

John died on 3 July 2021.^[11] The National Archives and Documentation Centre featured John's writings and issues of Flambeau in its July monthly exhibition.^[12]

Partial bibliography

• "Political Crisis in St. Vincent" (1967) New World III (3).^[14]
• "Joshua, Ebenezer" (2006) Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History 3: 1202–1203.^[15]

As editor

• Search for Identity: Essays on St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2006)^[3]
• Quest for Caribbean Unity: Beyond Colonialism (2006)^[16]
• Home Sweet Home: Musings on Hairoun (2007)^[17]

References

1. Fraser, Adrian (23 July 2021). "The Kenneth John I knew – In Appreciation (Part III)". searchlight.vc. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
2. Providence, LeRoy (23 July 2021). "Dr Kenneth John has left us: Putting him into context". thevincentian.com. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
3. Search for identity : essays on St. Vincent and the Grenadines [taken from Flambeau Magazine] (1965-68). Baldwin King, Kenneth John, Cheryl L. A. King. Madison, New Jersey. 2006. ISBN 0-9778981-0-5. OCLC 81295612.
4. "UWI Open campus extends condolences on the passing of Dr Kenneth John". searchlight.vc. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
5. "History". www.open.uwi.edu. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
6. Fraser, Adrian (7 May 2021). "The 'PR' I knew". www.searchlight.vc. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
7. John, Kenneth (October 1993). "A look at some political basics". The Vincentian. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
8. "St. Vincent and the Grenadines General Election Results 1974". Caribbean Elections. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
9. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp601 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
10. Byron-Cox, Richard A. (9 July 2021). "The Kenneth John chapter- By Richard Byron-Cox". NEWS784. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
11. "Remembering Dr. Kenneth John". The Vincentian. 9 July 2021. p. 8.
12. "From the Archives Desk". National Public Library of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021 – via facebook.com.
13. Fraser, Adrian (9 July 2021). "The Kenneth John I knew – In Appreciation". www.searchlight.vc. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
14. John, Kenneth (1967). "Political Crisis in St. Vincent". New World Journal. III (3).
15. Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history : the Black experience in the Americas. Colin A. Palmer (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. 2006. ISBN 0-02-865816-7. OCLC 60323165.
16. Quest for Caribbean unity : beyond colonialism, essays taken from Flambeau magazine (1965-68). Kenneth John, Baldwin King, Cheryl L. A. King. Madison, NJ: Kings-SVG. 2006. ISBN 0-9778981-1-3. OCLC 605050024.
17. Home sweet home : musings on Hairoun. Baldwin King, Kenneth John, Cheryl L. A. King, Printed in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers. Madison, New Jersey. 2007. ISBN 978-0-9778981-2-1. OCLC 505947423.

External links

• "This Week: Dr. Kenneth John" - latest columns in The Vincentian