Thomas Vincent Ramos

Thomas Vincent Ramos (17 September 1887 – 13 November 1955), commonly known as T. V. Ramos, was a Belizean civil rights activist who promoted the interests of the Garifuna people, and is now considered a national hero.

Background

T. V. Ramos was born in Puerto Cortés, Honduras, on 17 September 1887 and was educated at Wesleyan Methodist primary schools in Stann Creek Town, British Honduras (now Dangriga, Belize), and Belize City. He took correspondence courses in business administration, public speaking, journalism and accountancy. Ramos married Elisa Marian Fuentes in 1914. He moved permanently to Stann Creek Town in 1923 but did not formally become a British subject until one year before his death in 1955. The purpose of the Carib Development Society was to help the sick and to assist those who need financial assistance to bury their dead. The society owns of land that was called the Carib Reserve at Sarawee in the Stann Creek valley. He lobbied successfully for the colonial authorities to provide native Garifuna nurses in the local hospital.

T. V. Ramos was a contemporary of Marcus Garvey, and was involved in Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. He fought discrimination against Garifuna people, including all Afro-Belizeans. He was founder of the Independent Manhood and Exodus Uplift Society and the Colonial Industrial Instruction Association.

In 1940, as leader and spokesman of the Garifuna people along with Pantaleon Hernandez and Domingo Ventura he approached the governor of the colony and asked for establishment of a public and bank holiday to observe the Garifuna arrival in Belize. The request was granted and the Carib Disembarkation Day, later named Garifuna Settlement Day, was first celebrated in Stann Creek District on 19 November 1941. The holiday was recognized in Toledo District in 1943 and throughout the country in 1977. The parade is part of the week-long lead-up to the Garifuna Settlement Day that he established, which includes selection of Miss Garifuna, parades and special church services, and The T. V. Ramos Classic Bike Race.

His granddaughter Adele Ramos published a biography of T. V. Ramos in 2000. A statue of Thomas Vincent Ramos stands at the junction of Commerce and Front Streets in Dangriga.

Ivan Ramos, a grandson, served as a member of the Belize House of Representatives from Dangriga from 2012 to 2015.