THE life and work of patriot Adrian Cola Rienzi were celebrated at the auditorium of Naparima College on May 14.
A gathering of academics, politicians, trade unionists, the clergy, lawyers and others, similar to the “Tuesday meetings” he and Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler held to change the course of history back in the 1930s, was convened that Sunday in San Fernando.
Rienzi was born Krishna Deonarine in 1905 in Palmyra on the outskirts of San Fernando, but died as Desh Bandu in 1972. His story is told in a book by historian and former politician Prof Brinsley Samaroo – Adrian Cola Rienzi, The Life and Times of an Indo-Caribbean Progressive.
It was launched at the school Rienzi had to leave after three years because his father had abandoned his family. These were three formative years, nevertheless, Samaroo writes, which Rienzi credited with shaping him and giving him competence in English and maths and an ambition to make his way in the world.
From high school dropout, Rienzi became a law clerk, went to England to become a full-fledged lawyer, and got involved in trade unionism, alongside Butler, playing a critical role in forming both the oil and sugar workers' unions. He bridged the divide between the two dominant ethnicities, and moved into the political realm locally and internationally.
[caption id="attachment_956012" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Activist Kafra Kambon engages Prof Brinsley Samaroo about his book Adrian Cola Rienzi – The Life and Times of an Indo-Caribbean Progressive. - YVONNE WEBB[/caption]
He served three terms as mayor of San Fernando and represented County Victoria on the Legislative Council.
His time in England led to his involvement in anti-imperial groups in Ireland while fighting for the liberation of his ancestral home of India and for Caribbean integration.
All these accomplishments and his battle with the British Empire for universal adult suffrage; women’s rights, long before the second wave of feminism; and arguments in favour of inter-racial relationships, are documented in the 152 pages of the book.
Was Rienzi a politician and trade unionist ahead of his time? San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello asked this as he lamented what he said was the lack to date of a properly documented history of the city. Samaroo has been commissioned to write its history from 1900-2020.
Regrello submitted that for someone who in the very turbulent 1930s recognised the value of the two critical ethnic groups to bring them together to achieve a very necessary objective, spoke to good politics and a lesson the current crop of politicians need to understand and action.
“Love knows not race, nor birth, nor creed, for if two individuals of different races are attracted to each other, fall in love, no one could be justified in suggesting such relationships have demoralising effect,” the books quotes Rienzi as saying.
“That was in 1928. Krishna Deonarine had the courage to state that publicly,” said Justice Peter Jamadar, who was invited to give an overview of the publication. He was r
