Rejecting David Hinds’s divisive rhetoric: Afro-Guyanese have the right to choose

Dear Editor,
I write with deep concern and disappointment over the recent disparaging remarks made by David Hinds regarding Afro-Guyanese who support the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) Civic government.
As an Afro-Guyanese professional, I take offense at his attempt to belittle, delegitimise, and even vilify the political choices of free-thinking individuals within our community.
Hinds’s rhetoric is not just insulting, but is also dangerously regressive. It seeks to imprison Afro-Guyanese in an outdated, monolithic political identity that denies us the agency to think, assess, and make decisions in our own best interest. This mindset belongs to a bygone era, one wherein political choice was dictated by race rather than reason, and by division rather than progress. Guyana has evolved. We are a diverse, multi-ethnic society that is moving forward, rejecting the shackles of racial polarization that have, for too long, held us back.
The idea that Afro-Guyanese who support the PPP/C are somehow betraying their identity is both absurd and offensive. It assumes that our political allegiance should be predetermined by the colour of our skin rather than by policies, leadership, and performance.
Every citizen of this country, regardless of ethnicity, has the right to associate with, and support, the political party that they believe best represents their vision for Guyana’s future. That is the essence of democracy. Afro-Guyanese, like all Guyanese, are not a political commodity to be owned or controlled by any one party or ideology. We are educated, independent thinkers who make choices based on our lived experiences, aspirations, and analyses of governance; not out of blind racial loyalty.
Further, Hinds’s remarks ignore the tangible progress and opportunities from which many Afro-Guyanese have benefitted under the current administration. Economic empowerment, access to education, infrastructure development, and inclusive policies have positively impacted all Guyanese, including the Afro-Guyanese community. To dismiss or vilify those who recognize and support this progress is not just unfair, but is intellectually dishonest.
At a time when Guyana is on the cusp of transformative development, we cannot afford to be shackled by the ghosts of racial politics. We must move forward as one people, recognizing that political diversity is not a betrayal of one’s identity, but a testament to the strength of our democracy.
I urge my fellow Afro-Guyanese to reject the divisive rhetoric of those who wish to keep us locked in the politics of the past. This is a new era, one wherein unity, progress and individual choice must be our guiding principles. There is no place for racial gatekeeping in a modern Guyana.
Let us choose progress over polarization.

Regards,
Marcia Hope,
MIB, MA