JAGS was “No Ordinary Man” said Fulford-Missick as 2024 Nat’l Heroes Day Speaker

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, May 31, 2024 – The Turks and Caicos Islands’ (TCI) first Chief Minister, and only National Hero, His Excellency James Alexander George Smith (JAGS) McCartney, was on May 29, saluted as a “great soul of our soil.”

Delivering the keynote address at the annual commemoration of his life, held at the JAGS McCartney Mausoleum, on Old Airport Road, Grand Turk, President of TCI Football Association (TCIFA), Sonia Fulford Missick said he has impacted the lives of Islanders in significant ways, as he “was no ordinary man.

“He achieved greatness, because he dared to dream, and he looked beyond the obstacles that were seen, and were even placed in his way by others. He was fearless, and truly believed” in his people and country, she told her audience.

The last Manday in May is celebrated as the JAGS McCartney Day, which is a public holiday in the TCI, in honour of Mr. McCartney who served as Chief Minister from August 1976 until May 9th, 1980, when he died in a plane crash, in New Jersey, United Staes (USA), just before his 35th birthday.

“His Message was always of hope for a united Turks and Caicos Islands, and he has left behind a legacy, a road map for his people, and he never stopped believing in the creative potential of his people,” she said while calling on the population to be the “best version” of what the National Hero represented.

Named after a Jamaican lawyer, JAG Smith, at birth, he was not expected to live beyond three weeks due to a heart murmur, a condition that would in the future prevent him from being enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Despite this condition, he lived a practically healthy and active childhood life.

He started the Junkanoo Club, a forum where young people discussed current issues and socialise. it was the nucleus of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) which was established in 1975. One of the prevailing issues that was addressed was that of police brutality. In many cases, he brought in his father, who was a lawyer, to help defend the rights of the poor and disenfranchised.

There was a lot of tension between the police and the Junkanoo Club, but due to the efforts of Mr. McCartney and the Club and other factors, a historic agreement was reached and today, Turks and Caicos Islanders now celebrate June 6th as “Human Rights Day”.

“Our National Hero was not only able to touch the lives of those present during his time on earth, but also to make a lasting impression and an indelible mark some 40 years since his passing on all generations to come,” stated Acting Governor, Her Excellency, Anya Williams.

Premier, the Hon. Charles Washington Misick said her Mr. McCartney was an idealist “committed to disrupt the status quo of an egalitarian society in the TCI, a cause for which he would die, and owe it to him, to preserve the march of his aspirational, vision, build on his lofty legacy,” the Premier said.

For Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Edwin Astwood, the National Hero was a “champion of unity,” and a “visionary who sought to uplift and unite his people in time of adversity. He dreamed of a future where our people would stand united, and his legacy is one of courage and compassion,” he said.

JAGS Day photos by Derek Been, Grand Turk Events