James Tanny Rose, the man who created a role for himself as the undisputed voice
for the poor and under-represented, has died. Rose passed away mid-morning on
Monday at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre after a short illness. He was 76 years
old.
Rose was a powerful voice who appeared on practically all radio talk shows in the
country, and he was an unapologetic supporter/defender of the Antigua and
Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and its policies. He was a trade unionist having
worked as an officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (A and BWU) and
later he switched political allegiance and joined the Antigua Trades and Labour
Union (AT and LU), moving up to the rank of General Secretary.
His son, James Tanny Rose Jnr., said one of the reasons for his switch to
AT and LU/ABLP was he was a particular admirer of the Father of the Nation, Sir
V.C. Bird, who he felt was a man who truly cared for the ‘common man.’
Rose also entered the political arena as an ABLP candidate in 1999 when he
competed against former Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer. He lost that election.
However, according to Tanny Rose Jnr., it was his father’s compassion for the
ordinary men and women in society that was the impetus for his political activism,
as well as for his appearances on the radio talk shows.
“For him, politics was secondary. Everybody knows him from the radio shows and
politics, but there was another side to him that was more important in his eyes; that
was his concern and love for people. For example, if there were young men in the
Grays-Green community who didn’t have a proper education, he would get on the
phone calling different places trying to secure jobs for these individuals.
Additionally, young women with children, whose fathers did not support them
could find themselves getting assistance from my father,” he revealed.
Tanny Rose Jnr. also recalled his father buying large amounts of bulk items, and he
and his siblings having to ‘bag them out’ for distribution to needy families in the
community. “In fact, we had to buy a freezer specifically for that purpose, as our
fridge was not able to accommodate all these items. At Christmas time, he would
feed large numbers of people, especially those in dire need,” he indicated.
At the start of each school year, children in the Grays-Green community were also
able to attend school, fully prepared as Rose would launch an educational drive for
school supplies such as school bags, pens, and pencils, among other items for
distribution.
Tanny Rose Jnr. also described his father as having a special love for the elderly in
the community, many of whom received regular food and other supplies from
Rose’s solicitation and humanitarian efforts.
“He was more than what you heard on the radio; much more,” he declared.
