BELIZEAN PATRIOT

LEIGH RICHARDSON DIES AT AGE 84

ByHector Silva, Senator

October 29, 2008

Belizean Patriot Leigh Richardson passed away earlier this week in New York City. Richardson played a critical role in the movement that led to Belize’s Independence. Today we spoke to Senator Hector Silva who told us more about the efforts of Leigh Richardson.

Hector Silva; Senator

“Mister Leigh Richardson was one of the five pillars of the movement of Independence. On the 6^th of January 1950, just six days after the devaluation of the Belize dollar which was on par with the US dollar, Mister John Smith, Mister George Price, Mister Leigh Richardson, Mister Phillip Goldson and others, Mister Nicholas Pollard included, they got together and they decided to form a People’s Committee. They went through and to elect Mister John Smith was elected to be the quasi leader and then on the 29^th of September the People’s United Party was born with Mister John Smith as leader. Thereafter Mister John Smith in 1952 decided to abandoned the movement or to retire from the movement and he went to live in New Orleans and then Mister Leigh Richardson was elected to be the leader. It must be recalled that Mister Leigh Richardson was one of the activist in the labor movement along with Mister Goldson, Mister Price, Mister Jex and others too numerous to mention but Mister Leigh Richardson was one of those activist and they began the movement in force to move toward Independence.”

Senator Silva says it was shortly after that they had an election and Richardson was elected to serve as the member for Natural Resources in the Executive Council of the then Governor or what is known today as the Cabinet.

There after Mister Richardson led the movement until 1966 when there was a little political family disagreement over a matter of the West Indian Federation. Some were in favor of the federation and some were against the federation. The leadership had a meeting at the Riverside Hall and they discussed the matter there was the disagreement and Mister Richardson decided to resign or retire from the People’s United Party and Mister Goldson went along with him and Mister Jex and others. It was then that Mister George Price was elected to be the third leader of the People’s United Party to continue to movement to Independence. Mister Leigh Richardson and Mister Goldson they had a discussion with the then leader of the National Party, Mister Herbert Fuller, and they join a combination of the HINP, Honduran Independent Party formed by Mister Richardson and Mister Goldson and Mister Fuller had the NP, the National Party. So they combined both and they formed what became the NIP, National Independent Party. So that party was led by Mister Richardson and not long after Leigh abandoned the country some say for his own reasons. But irrespective of what happened back then it has to be accepted and it is accepted and it should be put into history that Mister Leigh Richardson played a very important role in the movement of Independence.”

During this year’s tribute to Belizean Patriots Leigh Richardson was honored with the Order of Distinction.