José Lake, Sr. (4th from L) flanked by six of his eight sons, circa early 1970s. (L-R) James Lake, Joseph Lake, Jr., Lasana Sekou (H. Lake), José Lake, Sr., Tony Hawley, Julio Lake, Jomo Lake. (©Saltwater Collection/Photo by W. Roumou)
TSXM – I see they are busy with the roundabout at Le Grand Marché. They took out the plants and trees and now I see a big star being constructed. I suppose something or someone will appear within that star. They did not take away the little statue. Personally I think that also that statue should be removed. What do I see when I take a good look at that statue? We see a wicked woman, trying to run away from her child. The child desperately holds the leg of her mother.
So I advise to pick up that statue and place it in the St. Maarten Zoo. Question: what or who do we put in the star that is being constructed in that roundabout at Le Grand Marché? I suggest we put there the only indigenous star St. Maarten ever had: Jose Lake Sr., the father of Jose Lake Jr. and Lasana Sekou. For people who do not know who José Lake Sr. is I advise them to buy or lend “National Symbols,” an absolutely beautiful book about everything St. Maarten is about: its culture, its history and the important people living or having lived in it. For me, the most important man who ever lived on St. Maarten, was José Lake Sr. Read page 70-77 and you will understand why I admire this man: he was the first highly educated black intellectual of St. Maarten. He created the first paper for our island in which he fought for the underpaid (black) worker. He challenged Wathey at elections. He envisioned a St. Maarten for St. Maarteners. Claude only had elementary school, but he had enough money to buy voters. He and Theo created a St Maarten for foreigners. This is in a nutshell St. Maarten’s history.
So here is my unpaid advice: Put a big statue of José Lake Sr. in the roundabout at Le Grand Marché.
Gerard Bijnsdorp,
Hoping that Jose’s sons and black advocate Badejo embrace my advice.
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