Eric Anthony Abrahams

Eric Anthony Abrahams
Eric Anthony Abrahams.png
Director of Tourism
In office
April 1970 – April 1975
Member of the Jamaican Senate
In office
1977–1978
Member of the Jamaican House of Representatives, representing East Portland
In office
1980–1989
Minister of Tourism and Minister of Information
In office
1980–1985
Personal details
BornMay 5, 1940
DiedAugust 7, 2011(2011-08-07) (aged 71)
Alma materUniversity of the West Indies
University of Oxford

Eric Anthony "Tony" Abrahams (May 5, 1940 – August 7, 2011) was a Jamaican public servant. He served as Director of Tourism from 1970 to 1975, and Minister of Tourism and Communication from 1980 to 1985. He attended the University of the West Indies and University of Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar), and briefly worked for the BBC as their first black TV reporter. Abrahams was also a member of the Jamaican Senate (1977 to 1978), a director of Air Jamaica, and member of the Jamaican Parliament from 1980 to 1989. After leaving office, Abrahams co-created a radio show with Beverley Manley, "The Breakfast Club". He was also involved in a libel suit against the Gleaner Company, which initially resulted in a major settlement to him.

Biography

Early life and education

Eric Anthony Abrahams, also known as "Tony",[1] was born on May 5, 1940,[2] to Eric Abrahams and Lucille Abrahams.[3] His father was a director of a corporation.[4] He was educated at Jamaica College and studied economics, history and English at the University of the West Indies beginning in 1958. Abrahams graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of London. Abrahams was active in debating, serving as president of the debating club and competing in the United States several times. Illness rendered him unable to run for the role of president of the college's student union, but he was elected vice president in 1959, and attended an international congress in Baghdad, representing undergraduates. Abrahams was also a talented cricketer, captaining the school's team. Abrahams was a mediocre student. He became a Rhodes Scholar and was eventually admitted to St Peter's College at the University of Oxford,[5][3][6][7] where he studied jurisprudence.[8] Abraham's relatively weak academics caused him some trouble in getting admitted, and shortly after arriving the master of St. Peter's would write that there was "no chance" he could finish a degree in three years.[5]

Abrahams was sometimes compared to Malcolm X and participated in civil rights protests while at Oxford,[9] emerging as a militant leader at the college, known for being charismatic, a talented speaker and criticizing racism.[10] Abrahams quickly became involved in the Oxford Union, a debating society, beginning debates in early 1964. He was secretary in spring of that year, and was elected president in June.[11] Around 1964 he gave a speaking tour across the Middle East.[10] Abrahams organized the debate held in December 1964, picking the topic, getting the BBC to provide funding and television coverage, and inviting speakers,[12] including Malcolm X, who accepted.[2][8] Abrahams hosted the debate.[13] While Malcolm X was at Oxford for the debate, Abrahams was "gated" in his apartment, essentially under house arrest, after six p.m. because he had protested Nelson Mandela's arrest. Protests relating to apartheid had been banned during the visit of the Ambassador of South Africa to the United Kingdom.[14]

Early career

After graduation, Abrahams worked at the BBC, in 1965 becoming the first TV reporter there who was black.[15] By January 1966 he was reporting for 24 Hours on BBC1.[16] His assignments while there included reporting on a coup in Ghana and interviewing François Duvalier in Haiti, as well as reports from Nigeria and London.[16][3][6] Abrahams then moved back to Jamaica and beginning on March 5, 1967, worked in the Ministry of Tourism, first as an administrative assistant to the director. He eventually became Director of Tourism in April 1970. Abrahams was almost thirty years old, making him the youngest to hold the role.[3][6]

As director, Abrahams sought to improve worldwide advertising about traveling to Jamaica, to improve the quality of vacations there, and to make tourism a larger part of Jamaican society. The ministry was restructured under his oversight and several new branches established. His initiatives included a "Meet the People Programme" and "Tourism Month" in October.[3][6] From 1970 to 1974 Abrahams directed the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica.[17] He was also chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board around the same time, overseeing a large increase in tourism—tourist arrivals rose 40.4% and "foreign travel receipts" 55.5%, corresponding with an almost two-fold increase in the number of guest rooms on the island. Abrahams resigned from his role as Director of Tourism and his spot on the board in April 1975.[18][19] He also directed Air Jamaica, served on the Jamaican Government Air Policy Committee and negotiated some agreements on air travel. Abrahams was on the Public Passenger Transport Board and Chairman of the Jamaica Hotel School from 1974 to 1976.[20]

Abrahams was also a politician representing Eastern Portland.[6] From 1970 to 1976 he was Executive Director of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.[6] In September 1976, Abrahams ran for parliament as a member of the Jamaica Labour Party.[8] In 1977 he was elected to a one year term as a member of the Jamaican Senate.[3][6] In late August 1977, Abrahams resigned from the senate to work in the Organisation of American States,[20] working as the director of Multi-National Tourism Programme of the Organisation of American States until 1979. Abrahams also wrote articles for the Jamaica Herald.[3][6] In 1980 he was made a minister of the Jamaica Labour Party, and was elected to the Jamaican Parliament that same year, serving until 1989. From 1980 to 1985 he was minister of tourism and the minister of information.[15][17] In 1982, The Globe and Mail profiled Abrahams and his department, describing a "spectacular recovery for Jamaica tourism".[1] Edward Seaga, the prime minister, removed Abrahams from the post after a disagreement, and Abrahams left the party soon after.[15][17]

Libel suit

In 1987, the Associated Press published a story which alleged that Abrahams was bribed by an American company when serving as Minister of Tourism to grant them a contract. The story was republished by The Daily Gleaner, a Jamaican newspaper, as well as a tabloid.[21]

Abrahams sued The Daily Gleaner for libel. On July 17, 1996, the Gleaner Company, owner of the The Daily Gleaner, was ordered by a jury to pay Abrahams J$80.7 million in damages. The company appealed the decision, which they considered "manifestly excessive", to the Jamaica Court of Appeals. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported on the case, describing it as having "a chilling effect on the entire Jamaican media."[21][22] By 1999, the decision was still being appealed.[23] In 2000, the amount was lowered by the Court of Appeals to J$35 million.[17][22]

Later career

In 1992, Abrahams and Beverley Anderson-Manley created a radio show that focused on current events, "The Breakfast Club". The show first aired on KLAS Radio. Abrahams was described by a former host of the show as living and breathing the show, and his obituary in The Gleaner described it as his "crowning achievement".[17][24] He was "forced" to leave the show in 2010 as he had bone cancer.[17]

Death and funeral

Abrahams died on August 7, 2011,[24] and his funeral was held at the St Andrew Parish Church. He had two children and six grandchildren at the time of his death. A tribute was paid by then-Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding, who said "He was never afraid to challenge the status quo or demand change. He broke down many barriers".[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Martin, Robert (26 June 1982). "Spectacular Recovery for Jamaica Tourism". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Eric Anthony Abrahams (1940-2011)". The National Library of Jamaica. 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  4. ^ Tuck 2014, p. 94.
  5. ^ a b Tuck 2014, pp. 94–97.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography: Hon. Eric Anthony Abrahams" (PDF). Agency For Public Information (Jamaica). September 7, 1981. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Rhodes Scholar Database". Rhodes House. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "JLP's new man in E. Portland" (PDF). J. B. N. 27 September 1976.
  9. ^ Tuck, Stephen (2013). "Malcolm X's Visit to Oxford University: U.S. Civil Rights, Black Britain, and the Special Relationship on Race". The American Historical Review. 118 (1): 82–83, 97. ISSN 0002-8762.
  10. ^ a b Tuck 2014, p. 93.
  11. ^ Tuck 2014, pp. 97–98.
  12. ^ Tuck 2014, pp. 97–100.
  13. ^ Ambar 2014, p. 102.
  14. ^ Ambar 2014, p. 14.
  15. ^ a b c "Mr Anthony Abrahams was born to be the man he was" (PDF). The Daily Observer. August 10, 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Barbara Blake Hannah: The first black female reporter on British TV". BBC News. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Henry, Paul (August 8, 2011). "Anthony Abrahams, dead at 71" (PDF). The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Tourism director resigns post" (PDF). Jamaica Daily News. 26 April 1976. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Eric Anthony Abrahams" (PDF). FROM: JAMAICA. April 23, 1975.
  20. ^ a b "Abrahams quits Senate" (PDF). The Daily News. 31 August 1977. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  21. ^ a b CPJ 1997, p. 121.
  22. ^ a b "Jamaica decriminalises defamation". International Press Institute. 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  23. ^ Gourevitch & Murphy 2000, p. 121.
  24. ^ a b c Cunnincham, Anastasia (2011-08-18). "Anthony Abrahams laid to rest". The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 2021-04-10.

Bibliography

External links


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