Rosie Douglas

Roosevelt Bernard 'Rosie' Douglas was born on 15 October 1941 in Dominica, then part of the British Leeward Islands, and travelled to Canada in 1961 to study agriculture, later enrolling in political science at Sir George Williams University in Montreal.

While completing his master's degree at McGill University, Douglas emerged as the media-savvy leader of the 1969 Sir George Williams affair, when Black students staged a protest against alleged racism at the university; as police moved to clear the demonstration, a fire broke out, and Douglas was among dozens arrested.

Douglas served 18 months in jail for his role in the protest and was ultimately deported from Canada in 1976 after fighting deportation for years, becoming, in the process, a target of RCMP surveillance as part of a broader security operation against Black activist communities.

Returning to the Caribbean, Douglas became a committed advocate for Dominican independence, launching the Popular Independence Committee that helped pave the way for the island's independence from Britain in 1978, and building ties with international movements across Africa and the Caribbean.

Douglas eventually took leadership of the Dominica Labour Party following his brother Michael's death in 1992, and in February 2000 became Dominica's Prime Minister, serving with bold international ambition until his sudden death in office just eight months later, at age 58.