Trinidad, Tobago Independence Day Photos: Famous Trini People

On this day in 1962, Trinidad and Tobago proclaimed its independence from Britain by the People’s National Movement (PNM) founder. Colonized into the British Empire in 1797, the country fought for years to be independent. After the Federation of the British Antilles ended in 1961, Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence. At 12 a.m. on August 31, the British flag was lowered and Trinidad and Tobago flag was hoisted. Trinidad and Tobago’s first Prime Minister Eric Williams famously said in 1962, “Democracy means equality for all in education, in the public service and in private employment… Democracy means the protection of the weak against the strong… Democracy means the responsibility of the government to its citizens, the protection of the citizen from the exercise of arbitrary power… Democracy means the freedom of worship for all and the subordination of the right of any race to the overriding right of the human race.”

In honor of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence check out some of the more noteworthy people of Trinidad and Tobago descent.