Hon. J.A.G.S. McCartney The First National Hero Of The Turks & Caicos Islands

James Alexander George Smith McCartney (Jags) was born to Sally and Fernandez McCartney on June 30th, 1945 on Grand Turk. He was born with a serious heart condition and was not expected to lead a healthy and active life. However, from a very early age he was active in athletics. It was not until he was a teenager in high school on Grand Turk that he began experiencing problems with his heart.

Prompted by the seriousness of his medical condition and the absence of a heart specialist in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Jags was sent to Jamaica to receive the medical attention he needed and complete his secondary education at Happy Grove High School. He continued to be active in sports especially swimming and running.

During his years in Jamaica, he was inspired by the political activities of great leaders such as Hon. Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante and studied much about the work of leaders like Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King Jr. After Jags graduated from high school, he returned to the Turks and Caicos Islands where he developed programs which involved the local youths of Grand Turk.

Like many Turks and Caicos Islanders, he migrated to he United and then the Bahamas where he became interested in politics. There he associated himself with the progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and during the 1967 elections he campaigned on their behalf. Later, he and one of his colleagues organized the first major strike at the Grand Bahama Hotel to gain better working conditions for the employees there. He continued to encourage workers to form unions and fight against the oppression under which they worked. He helped to stage many peaceful demonstrations. These activities inspired him to write a book “A Black Boy in the Bahamas”.

In 1971, Jags McCartney returned to the Turks and Caicos. Elections were due the following year and he decided to contest a seat which he lost. Immediately following his defeat he began preparing for the 1976 elections. He started by forming the Junkanoo Club where young people could gather and discuss many current topics. It was from this group the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) was formed in 1975. The Junkanoo members were called “Black Power Boys”.

Jags had a burning desire to improve the social conditions of the Turks and Caicos Islands. He tried to fight for new land reforms that would allow Turks and Caicos Islanders to own land. He wanted more young people to go abroad to receive higher education and return home to hold good jobs in the islands. In September 1976, the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) won the elections and Jags McCartney, its leader became the first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Government. This victory began a new era for the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Hon. McCartney served his people well. He was committed and dedicated and he defended what he believed in. He felt that all men should be free and share equal opportunities in life. He felt that the poor needed to enjoy a happy life and to do this he fought the ills of the country and in the history books known as the First National Hero of the Turks & Caicos Islands.