Joseph Matthew Sebastian
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Joseph Matthew Sebastian (7 July 1891 – 25 June 1944) was a
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trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
leader and politician.


Early life

Joseph Matthew Sebastian was born in 1891 in Johnson's Point, in the Parish of St. Mary,
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. Following this, he studied to be a teacher. Upon completion of this part of his education, he attended the Mico College in
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from which he graduated first in the class, and with first class honours at the age of 15. He pursued a long career as an educator before he left that profession to pursue the cause of the workers in
St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
.


Family

On January 8, 1913, Sebastian married Miss Inez Veronica Hodge, with whom he had 12 children. In 1995, the only surviving son of Joseph Sebastian,
Cuthbert Sebastian Sir Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian (22 October 1921 – 25 March 2017) was the second governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis from 1996 to 2013. He was appointed Governor-General in 1995 and was sworn in on 1 January 1996. While in office, he ...
, was appointed
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of
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...
, being sworn in on January 1, 1996. In 1996, he was knighted by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
.


Universal Benevolent Association

In 1917, Frederick Solomon and George Wilkes returned to St. Kitts from the United States. They were joined by Joseph Alexander Nathan, who had left
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some years earlier. All three had been inspired by
Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...
and started spreading his message of new hope for poor Blacks. Nathan was already established in St. Kitts as a merchant, and he decided to help establish and pioneer a movement whose goal was to eradicate hunger and poverty of the working class, and establish an acceptable standard of living. The three formed the Universal Benevolent Association, which was also responsible for teaching reading, writing, and the rudiments of arithmetic. In addition, the Association encouraged saving and banking, as well as a death benefit plan. In 1918, Sebastian became the President of the Universal Benevolent Association. Together, Solomon, Wilkes, and Nathan founded an organization called the Union, which aimed to help the poor, disenfranchised, marginalized, and underprivileged—in particular, those working in the sugar cane fields and at the sugar factory. Solomon was the president, Nathan was the secretary, and Wilkes was the treasurer.


''The Union Messenger''

In 1921, the Union acquired its own newspaper, ''The Union Messenger'', which became the mouthpiece for its message of social reform and reconstruction. It was at this point that Sebastian resigned his teaching position to become the newspaper's managing editor, and president of the Union. Before his death, Sebastian bought the rights to the newspaper, and he owned the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
that was used at ''The Union Messenger''. Upon Sebastian's death, ownership was passed to his widow, Inez Veronica Sebastian, who then allowed the newspaper to continue to use the printing press (in perpetuity) and appointed
Joseph Nathaniel France Sir Joseph Nathaniel France, KCMG, CBE (16 September 1907 – 21 May 1997) was a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician and trade union leader. Life and career France served as a representative in the National Assembly and as Minister of Social Servic ...
to be editor of ''The Union Messenger''. Sebastian always put at the top of ''The Union Messenger'', the famous lines from
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's second
Inaugural Address In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event ...
, "With malice towards none, with Charity for all, with firmness in the right." In addition, the following dedication also appeared on every issue of ''The Union Messenger'': "Dedicated to the service of the people, that no good cause shall lack a champion, and that wrong shall not thrive unopposed."From, '' Meet My Father : A Short Walk Through the Life of Joseph Matthew Sebastian'', by Elise Sebastian Marthol - July 7, 1993 Through ''The Union Messenger'', Sebastian placed special emphasis on the problems faced by the disenfranchised population of St. Kitts and Nevis—housing, health and sanitation, education, and exploitation of children. Sebastian was its editor, and the newspaper exists today as '' The Labour Spokesman''. While some copies exist in private collections, most of Sebastian's editorials were destroyed when the courthouse at East Square Street burned down. ''The Union Messenger'' was widely read in the
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, the United States, and the United Kingdom.


Political career

In 1932, Sebastian was a founding member of the center-left political party the St Kitts Workers' League (now known as the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party), with
Thomas Manchester Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
as president. Sebastian served as a member of its Executive Council. In 1940, Sebastian was elected to the
Legislative Council of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...
and for a second time in 1943. He was also appointed member of the Executive Council of the Leeward Island Colony, which sat in
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
, which was the headquarters of the
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. In addition, Sebastian was elected to the Federal Executive Council of the colony in that same year. In addition, Sebastian was among those who launched the Trade Union in 1940. That April, the Sugar Factory workers went on strike. Sebastian, seeing the difficulties they were going to have to face, appealed to them to return to work. The response of the workers was very antagonistic; the workers sought out Sebastian with
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s and knives. However, they did not hurt him. In 1942, Sebastian succeeded Manchester as president of the Workers' League. In 1943, with an impending general strike and following Challenger's resignation from the Union, Sebastian once again found himself at the forefront of the Union leadership. However, Sebastian suddenly died on June 25, 1944.


Notes


Sources

*Marthol, Elise Sebastian; ''Meet My Father : A Short Walk Through the Life of Joseph Matthew Sebastian'', July 7, 1993. *McColman, Dorette; ''The Sebastians - A Family Portrait'' April 2000. *Rogers, Althea C.; ''Conversations About My Father'' 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian, Joseph Matthew 1891 births 1944 deaths Antigua and Barbuda emigrants to Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis trade unionists British Leeward Islands people of World War II People from Saint Mary Parish, Antigua