Carrington Foundation

The Small Man is Real Man

Winslow Carrington was born in Georgetown, Guyana, on February 22nd, 1923. Winslow was the typical middle child, having two older sisters: Muriel and Una and two younger sisters: Fay and Jean. Winslow's immigrant parents met and got married in Georgetown Guyana with his father Cecil Percival Carrington being from Barbados, and his mother, Ruth Green was from Trinidad. It is important to note that Winslow's father, "Percey," as he was commonly known, was of mixed-race heritage, and he did marry and very dark skin Ruth Green, resulting in the isolation from his clan.

The Early Years

Winslow's father Cecil Percival Carrington was a typical laborer as his line of work, he also drank a lot, and just around when Winslow was 11 years of age, his father suffered a massive stroke and could no longer work. The loss of the primary breadwinner of the household caused Winslow having to drop out of school and go to work to take care of the family. Without a primary education and barely being able to read and or write, Winslow landed a job with Canada Dry as a bottle washer but continued to educate himself by reading anything that he could get his hands on. It was from those early years that Winslow Carrington started his advocacy for workers' rights. Working at Canada Dry and later at Banks DIH, Carrington started his life-long mission of standing for the workers for better working conditions and pay. After joining the then British Guiana Labour Union (BGLU) in the 1940s, which was then headed by "the father of Guyana's Trade Unions" Hubert Nathanial Critchlow, Carrington moved up in the ranks after being elected Shop Steward to represent the workers at the DIH bottling plant. Being an understudy of Critchlow and later the founding leaders of the country, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, both returning Guyana scholars who took up the leadership mantle in the BGLU. Carrington later moved over to The Transport and General Workers Union, where he rapidly moved up in the leadership because of his activist role.

However, as the saying goes behind every good man, there is a great woman, and that was no different when Winslow wed Elsie Evelyn Griffith in 1943. Together they produce nine children Hazel, Naomi, Horace, Melvyn, Bunche (deceased), Gilbert, Monty, Rawle, and Paul. Elsie was a great woman because coming from a similarly poor single-parent household, and she remained the glue to a relatively large family. Winslow, for his role as a husband and father, was often absent as he was more busy with his work as a labour leader and community organizer.

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the legend of carri

Visionary

His advocacy for Food Security through self-reliance, Carri had a chicken farm and a grocery (shop) store at his place of residence that provided fresh produce to the community. Carri planted vegetables on his property with free access to members of the community.

Inspirational

He was an inspirational person to his community and country by his demonstrated action of "self-help," which motivated others to do the same. Carrington, a man of limited means and education, was able to elevate himself to that of Minister of Labour, an inspiration to his community. As Minister of Labour and Social Security, Carri oversaw the development and implementation of one of Guyana's most enduring institutions: The National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

Honest

As a labour leader, Carrington advocated for Honest Pay for Honest Work. As Minister of Labour he was an HONEST broker in negotiations between the workers and most cases the government that he represented. Honest Carri paid the ultimate political capital by advocation for the recognition of Guyana's largest labour union, Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), by the government while functioning as the Minister of Labour.

Winslow G. Carrington, one of the "small men" in the picture with President John F. Kennedy in 1961

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You

Ask What You Can Do For Your Country

Time after time, when asked WHAT CAN YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY, Winslow G. Carrington RAISED HIS HAND. In the only white paper that he wrote and we have not been able to retrieve A Proletariat Struggle, Carrington from a working-class background with limited education opined about his difficulty in gaining the acceptance of many in the cabinet of which he was a standing member. In the white paper, it was not that suffered from any complex of being surrounded by ninety percent barristers (lawyers) but by the treatment meted out to him by those individuals. Yet, Carrington remained undaunted and continued to raise his hands. Whenever there was an issue related to the betterment of the workers of Guyana, Carrington raised his hand and got down to work. When the government at the time needed to legally recognized the nation's largest workers union for negotiation purposes, Carrington as the Minister of Labour raised his hand and expended significant political capital. The formulation, development, and implementation of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) were required, and Carrington raised his hand and did the right thing for his countrymen. Today after almost fifty years,NIS is considered one of Guyana's most enduring institutions.

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Winslow Carrington - 1923 -1991

A Labour Leader and Minister of Labour at a time of great significance in Guyana's short history.

Self-thought Mechanical and Electrical Engineer
Master drink maker
Musical Band Manager
Commercial chicken farmer
Grocer
Footballer "Ball Ah Fire"
Pepper Sause"Petite" and Worcestershire Sause Maker

Winslow Carrington was truly a Renaissance Man.