OSWALD BROWN WRITES:
(EDITOR’S NOTE: In my recent OSWALD WRITES column on Father Marcian Peters and St. Bernard’s Sporting Club, I briefly mentioned that as a member of St. Bernard’s Sporting Club, Cynthia “Mother” Pratt excelled in virtually every sport in which she participated. Searching through my files, I found this OSWALD BROWN WRITES column on “Mother” Pratt that documents her achievements in sports and politics. It was originally published in the Freeport News and the Nassau Guardian in August of 2007.)
She has not yet closed the book on her political career, but her accomplishments so far have been so noteworthy that she has already secured for herself a prominent place in the annals of Bahamian history.
There is no question that Cynthia “Mother” Pratt’s rise to prominence in politics is a remarkable story that could be developed into a blockbuster movie. To be sure, five decades ago, no one would have anticipated that the gangling 12-year-old who was living in abject poverty at the time in an Over-The-Hill area just south of Meeting Street would have reached the heights she has attained in her almost 62 years on this earth.
I have recounted this story before, but it is worth repeating. Back in 1999, The Nassau Guardian published an extraordinary story that provided some insights into how this immensely talented woman established the values that were the guiding principles for her sojourn in life.
A Canadian couple, on a visit to Nassau in 1999, recalled how impressed they were by the determination and work ethics of a young girl they encountered during their nightly stroll down Bay Street when they first visited The Bahamas on their honeymoon in 1958. Thirteen-year-old Cynthia Moxey, who at the time was assisting her mother in selling her wares at the straw market, left such an indelible impression on Daniel and Louise Bolduc that they made inquiries about her on subsequent visits to Nassau over the years.
As noted in The Guardian’s story in February of 1999, Bolduc said he and his wife concluded that the young girl would one day be successful in whatever she pursued because when they met her “she was putting in more of an effort in going the extra mile, which is the reason why people become successful.”
Bolduc said he was not surprised, therefore, when he asked a female Immigration officer on his arrival in Nassau, during his visit in February of 1999, if she knew Cynthia Moxey, and was told she was a Member of Parliament.
When asked by a Guardian reporter if he was surprised to find out that Moxey had become a Member of Parliament, Bolduc was quoted as saying: “No, because she belongs there, and maybe as Prime Minister, more than just a member of parliament.”
Given current speculation about a pending leadership change in the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Mother Pratt’s life achievements despite the odds, the possibility that Bolduc may have been clairvoyant cannot be ruled out. True, at 62, age may not be on her side, but it is also true that among the top contenders to replace Perry Christie as leader of the PLP is Dr. Bernard Nottage, who is at least two years older than Mother Pratt.
What’s more, more so than any of those who served in Perry Christie’s cabinet when he was Prime Minister, Mother Pratt is the only one who was given the opportunity to demonstrate that she has the mettle to be Prime Minister when she acted in that capacity for several months when Christie fell ill.
And it cannot also be overlooked that she was Christie’s choice to serve as his Deputy Prime Minister. Of course, there were those who did not think she was an appropriate choice when she was named to that position back in May of 2002, but if she was not, she was a quick study and her development was simply remarkable, so much so that even those who doubted her ability at the outset had to admit that she served extremely well as Deputy Prime Minister, if honesty is a cultural trait they developed at some point in their lives.
So surely, Cynthia “Mother” Pratt deserves consideration for the leadership of the PLP, if she is inclined to seek that position. Wouldn’t that be a remarkable fairy-tale ending to what is already an extraordinarily amazing story?
Life for Cynthia Moxey Pratt has not been a crystal stair, but she was able to overcome tremendous obstacles to establish a successful career in two other professions before entering politics. As a young girl, poverty defined the environment in which she lived on West Street and she and her siblings visibly reflected this in the way they dressed. But being poor did not put limitations on the natural ability that she had in virtually all areas of sports.
It was through sports that Cynthia Moxey would lay the foundation for the success which she has attained and the ethical standards that govern her life. No small amount of credit for this is due to the late Father Marcian Peters, a Roman Catholic priest, who was responsible for putting many young persons in The Bahamas – myself included – on the right road to becoming productive citizens of this country.
As the founder of St. Bernard’s Sporting Club, Father Marcian provided many wayward youths with an outlet to not only develop their sporting talent, but to improve their social graces and to establish a camaraderie with other youths who were from “better-off” or, in some cases, “well-to-do” families.
Among the club members, there were no social differences, and superbly gifted athletes like Cynthia Moxey were popular members of St. Bernard’s. She excelled in virtually every sport and attained “superstar” status in basketball and track and field and, in later years, was also a standout in softball, volleyball, netball, and cycling, among others.
Armed with a determination to succeed in life, in 1963, at the age of 18, Cynthia Moxey decided to pursue a career in nursing and began training to become a practical nurse. This was the profession through which she made a living for 17 years, during which time she changed her last name from Moxey to Pratt when she married Joseph Pratt, who was employed with the Bahamas Electricity Corporation for many years.
Cynthia Pratt subsequently decided that nursing was not what she wanted to do as a life-long profession and embarked on a career centred around her skills and knowledge of sports. She became a teacher and coach at C.C. Sweeting High School, but quickly realized that to advance up the ladder in this field, she had to further her education.
On entering St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina, she approached her studies with the same drive and dedication that had been hallmarks of her sporting life. The result was that she graduated in 1983 second in a class of 400-plus with a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and physical education and a minor in sociology.
She returned to C.C. Sweeting, where she remained until 1991. During this time, she helped to build a sports dynasty and used her status to assist many Bahamian youngsters to get a higher education in the United States through sports scholarships. In 1991, she moved on to the College of The Bahamas as assistant director of student activities.
Mother Pratt decided to enter the political arena in the 1997 general election because, as she said at the time, she felt that if given the opportunity, she could help open the doors to opportunities for the masses.
The rest, as they say, is history, but the final chapter has not yet been written.
Oswald T. Brown is editor and general manager of The Freeport News.
(ADDENDUM: Since this article was first published, “Mother” Pratt has accomplished many other landmark achievements, including becoming a published author of a book based on her life, which has received rave reviews and could make my comment in this column that her “rise to prominence in politics is a remarkable story that could be developed into a blockbuster movie” prophetic.)
