Full Name
Samuel Jackman Prescod (born 1806)[1]
Date of Birth
1806[1]
Date of Death
September 26, 1871[2]
Place of Birth
Barbados[1]
Spouse’s Name
Children’s Names
- Not available
Known Affiliates Names
- National Hero of Barbados (1998)[2]
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
- Parliament of Barbados (first person of African descent to be elected)[2]
- Liberal Party (founder)[2]
Legacy
Samuel Jackman Prescod was a Barbadian journalist, politician, and judge who became the first person of African descent to be elected to the Parliament of Barbados in 1843[2]. Born out of wedlock to a free colored woman, Lydia Smith, and a wealthy white father, William Prescod, he was given his forenames for Samuel Jackman, a local white planter[2]. Prescod was a vocal advocate for the rights of the people and used his position as a newspaper editor to criticize the planters’ policies that suppressed blacks[4]. In 1998, the Parliament of Barbados enacted that he should be styled as “The Right Excellent”[2]. The Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and Jackmans, a town in the Saint Michael parish, are named in his honor[2].
Citations: [1] https://www.barbadospocketguide.com/our-island-barbados/national-heroes/samuel-jackman-prescod.html [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Jackman_Prescod [3] https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/96Y4-8N3/samuel-jackman-prescod-1806-1871 [4] https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/barbados-independence/samuel-jackman-prescod-the-voice-of-the-people/ [5] https://newworldjournal.org/volumes/barbados-independence-issue/samuel-prescod-the-birth-of-a-hero/2/