SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all, I'm Erin Haynes. I'm the editor-at-large for The 19th News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting
on gender, politics, and policy. We look at where our democracy remains unfinished, where
women, people of color, and queer people are still not included. And later this month,
I'll be your host for a brand new podcast from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network called The Amendment. More on that soon. But for now, I'm excited to be your guest host for this month of Womanica. This Black History Month, we're talking about revolutionaries,
the Black women who led struggles for liberation from violent governments, colonial rulers, and enslavers. These women had the courage to imagine radically different worlds, and
they used their power to try and pull those worlds into view. Today, we're talking about
a Caribbean-born grassroots labor organizer who is not as well known as her male counterparts, but who is no less impactful. She committed her life to hunger marches, political education,
and empowering the working class in Trinidad and Tobago. Please welcome Elma Francois.
Elma was born on October 14, 1897, on the island of St. Vincent. Her childhood was punctuated
by loss. First, the death of her father. Then, the loss of her family's home during a volcanic
eruption. When she was still young, she joined her mother in the fields, picking sea cotton
outside of Kingstown. Later, Elma got a job at a sugar factory, but she was quickly fired for trying to organize the workers. In 1919, Elma moved to Trinidad on the hunt for more
job opportunities. She left her two-year-old son, Conrad James, under the care of her mother.
She found work in Port of Spain as a domestic worker for a white, upper-class family, and used her modest earnings to send weekly packages back home to her mother and son.
Elma soon joined the Trinidad Working Men's Association, but she frequently clashed with
the leader, Captain Arthur Andrew Cibriani. Cibriani often avoided the workers he sought
to represent. Elma believed in the importance of working amongst the people. When she wasn't
staying up late, studying labor theory by candlelight, she spent her nights hosting
rap sessions, where she'd teach her fellow working-class men and women about what she'd learned. In 1934, Elma helped found the National Unemployed Movement, or N.U.M. Trinidad, like
much of the world, was suffering under the weight of the Great Depression, and Elma saw
how working-class people bore the brunt of it. She helped create a register of the unemployed,
an official headcount to illustrate the depth of poverty people were facing, and led a series of hunger marches when masses of unemployed folks gathered to call for aid. Later that
same year, the N.U.M. changed its name to the Negro Welfare, Cultural and Social Association, or NWCSA, and expanded its focus beyond unemployment to the economic, political and social well-being of Black people generally. The NWCSA was particularly focused on uplifting Black women, and became
the first gender-neutral organization of its time. In addition to championing working-class
causes domestically, the NWCSA was committed to fighting colonialism abroad. When Italy
invaded Ethiopia in 1935, the NWCSA instructed workers to refuse to load Italian ships on the docks. In 1936, the organization turned its focus to the pantry. The price of condensed
milk, a staple of the working-class diet at the time, had skyrocketed. Elma led a delegation
that met with the governor to discuss the issue. The group had collected mountains of
research on the cost of living, nutritional standards, hospital services, old-age pensions,
school meals and health services. It was the first time in the history of the country that
a political delegation included a high proportion of women. In 1937, the dissatisfaction that
had been simmering for some time finally boiled over. Riots shook the entire Caribbean. Elma
helped instigate the first riot in Port of Spain. For this, she was thrown in jail for seven days, making her the first woman in the country's history to face a sedition charge. Against the advice of the barrister, Elma represented herself in court. Her defense
was so stirring, the jury unanimously declared her not guilty. As the globe entered the Second
World War, economic conditions declined in the Caribbean even further. The NWCSA focused
on the creation of trade unions, which were then enlisted to help in the war effort. Elma
and her comrades opposed this. They called for working people to not support the war
efforts and to not enlist. Then, in April 1944, Elma received shocking
news. Her only son Conrad had enlisted in the British Army. He wanted to fight in a
war to protect the very nation Elma had spent most of her life trying to challenge. She
blamed herself. Maybe if she had been a more present figure in his life, he wouldn't have
enlisted. Despite their differences, Elma attended a farewell dance to bid her son goodbye. They took to the dance floor, wrapped in each other's arms. The next day, on April 17, 1944,
Elma passed away. She received a socialist funeral. Her body was shrouded in a red cloth,
and her comrades in attendance wore their all-red uniforms and red felt hats, or Panama hats. After her death, the NWCSA's activity slowed
down, but Elma's impact is still felt across the Caribbean. In 1987, her home country of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines named her a national heroine of Trinidad and Tobago.
All month, we're talking about revolutionaries. For more information, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast. Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan
for having me as a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow.
