Kenneth Persaud was well respected in the Guyanese Diapora in New York

Dear Editor:

Kenneth Persaud, former UG lecturer and former member of the PPP and WPA, a close colleague of the revolutionary thinker Dr Walter Rodney who fought the PNC dictatorship, died a week ago. He was well known as KP and was seen as an inspirational teacher and mentor to many students in Guyana and the diaspora.

KP engaged students and politicians during his decades as an educator and political activist.  In my last conversation with him in December, he showered glowing tributes to the respected Pandit Ramlall and me for our commitment to community development and for my writings on varied critical issues pertaining to Guyana and the Guyanese and Indian diaspora.

KP was held in high regards by the Guyanese diaspora and Guyanese at home as well. He gave his entire life fighting for the poor and joined the struggle for free and fair elections in Guyana. He also devoted considerable amount of time to writing. He nurtured countless minds as a teacher and as a writer. He gave his heart, mind and soul to nurture Guyanese away from the politics of race. But he acknowledged that he, WPA and PPP failed in their advocacy of multi-racial politics. Guyana has remained a divided society from the 1950s till now.

KP was a respected newspaper columnist and he also frequently delivered lectures in Canada, New York and Florida on Guyana politics. People looked forward for his views on changing Guyanese politics. He welcomed political change in Guyana but was soon disappointed by the political direction of the APNU-AFC coalition and the return of politics and economics of racial victimisation and discrimination. He was critical of the WPA linking up with the PNC and its silence on the commission of inquiry into Rodney’s assassination by the PNC. He was disappointed that the WPA was silent on the murder of Rodney.

KP was educated at York College in Toronto, Canada. He returned home and taught political science at the University of Guyana before he was victimised by the PNC dictatorship.

He founded the Kitty Progressive College at the Rama Krishna Mandir and became its principal. The progressive College catered mostly for the poorer students of society. His major interests revolved around the effects of Imperialism, globalisation and the emerging new World Order. He felt that through the power of education, people could understand their problems and build a better society He was fiercely dedicated to his cause and ideology.

KP became very active in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Guyana. He worked closely with the late Dr. Josh Ramsammy, Rodney, Dr. Roopnarine, Prof. Omowale, and the WPA group and became a targeted man. Prior to that, he was very close with Dr. Jagan and PPP politics and served on the PPP Central Committee. His son Dr Cliff Persaud was originally married to Dr Cheddi Jagan’s only daughter Nadira. They both studied in the Soviet Union under PPP scholarships.

KP fled Guyana for NY after several WPA activists were assassinated and opposition political activists were beaten by (House of Israel) thugs affiliated with the PNC. He was targeted for violence and put on surveillance for his pro-democracy activism.

KP will be fondly remembered. He left a legacy of extraordinary brilliance in his writings and speeches. He saw education as vital and critical for success and for securing a future. His students will always be in awe of his knowledge of issues, his teaching abilities, and passionate spirit in advocating his belief. In NY, the community is grateful for his contributions to various spheres of life and the development of their former homeland. His political views will always treasured.

Vishnu Bisram