Rosie Douglas : From Activist to Head of State (1978) - the fifth estate

Adrienne Clarkson profiles Roosevelt ‘Rosie’ Douglas, the Canadian-educated black political activist from Dominica who was deported for his involvement in 1969 student riots at Sir George Williams (now Concordia) University in Montreal. Douglas was the son of a wealthy plantation owner and continued his activism once he returned to Dominica, encouraging the workers on his father’s plantation to unionize and demand wage increases. Douglas organized the Dominica-Cuba friendship coalition and was monitored because of his socialist views. On February 3 2000 he became prime minister of Dominica. He held the office until his sudden death eight months later on October 1, 2000. the fifth estate is celebrating our 40th season and we are taking a look back at some of the people and places we have featured on the program. To celebrate our 40 years on the air, we’re doing something we’ve never done before : turn the cameras on ourselves. Join us on Secrets of the fifth estate. Tune in Thursday April 9th at 9 PM on CBC Television. For more on Secrets of the fifth estate : http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/fifthsecrets/ For more on the fifth estate : http://www.cbc.ca/fifth Follow us on Twitter :   / cbcfifth   Like us on Facebook :   / thefifthestate