On October 23rd of 1970, Cecil Wallace Whitfield stood up at a PLP convention and spoke against the disturbing reality that the PLP had lost its way. He highlighted the “creeping totalitarianism” within the party and the fact that young people at the time had no real say in the direction of their country. A few days later Dr. Curtis MacMillan, the minister of health also resigned. Shortly afterwar
ds, a vote of No Confidence was brought in the House of Assembly by Randol Fawkes, by then an Independent MP. In that vote 8 former PLPs voted with the 7 opposition MPs against the governing PLP. The 8 former PLPs were Cecil Wallace Whitfield, Arthur Foulkes, Warren Levarity, Maurice Moore, Dr. Curtis MacMillan, James “Jimmy” Shepherd, Dr. Elwood Donaldson and George Thompson. These eight men are known as the “Dissident Eight”. The eight then formed a separate political Party which they named The Free PLP. In 1971 Clarence Bain, MP for Mangrove Cay, and an elder statesman in the struggle for Majority Rule, died. The PLP defeated both the UBP and the fledgling Free PLP in the July election. The Free PLP, by then the Official Opposition, had held several meetings with other opposition Parties with the hope of creating a unified opposition to the PLP then, on the 20th October, 1971, passed a Resolution at an all-night meeting at its Headquarters at Spring Hill Farm, in Fox Hill, to create a new party called the Free National Movement. The Founders of the Party held themselves and the FNM to the highest standard, one fueled by a love of their country and a commitment to serve all Bahamians fairly and equitably. Today, the nation — and the world — continue to hold the FNM in the highest regard. The Free National Movement is proud of this mantle. FNM Leaders have been great figures in Bahamian history, men and women of character, honour, and ethics who abhor corruption and detest victimisation. The Torchbearers Youth Association was formed in the midst of the 1972 General Election when a group of young men who were walking through the St. Agnes Constituency campaigning on behalf of Party Leader, Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. These five young men realized the need for positive social activities among Bahamian youth and consulted with the Leader, who warmly embraced the idea. With the encouragement of Cecil Wallace-Whitfield the Torchbearers Youth Association was constituted shortly afterwards. The first public presentation of the Torchbearers Youth Association took place on the 1st October, 1972, when 200 Torchbearers, led by their first President Richard Fawkes, marched to the Southern Recreation Ground to hold a youth rally. The Torchbearers Youth Association was the first “Youth Wing” of any of the existing political Parties in The Bahamas, and has endured as a vibrant and essential component of the Party’s continual efforts to constantly renew its membership and to give ever increasing opportunities for political and social advancement to Bahamian youth.
