Background
The nation of Belize (or, as it was then called, British Honduras), was in a state of flux. Hurricane Hattie had set the nation back decades since its arrival onshore on October 30, 1961, and started the trend of migration by Belizeans to the United States and elsewhere to find work and educational opportunities, occasionally sending money home to those left behind. The ruling People's United Party (PUP), well removed from its heyday in the early 1950s, was concentrating on the development of the country as a whole and not necessarily Belize City, its largest municipality. The Opposition National Independence Party mainly suscribed to colonial tenets and argued that the nation needed a more gradual approach to development.
St. John's College, then as now considered one of Belize's finest educational institutions, had turned out graduates from its Sixth Form (now St. John's College School of Liberal Arts) since 1964. Its 1966 class included a middle-class Creole named Evan Anthony Hyde. Hyde had received a scholarship to attend a prestigious Ivy League university in the United States, Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. After spending two years in Hanover, Hyde returned with a B.A. in English and immediately accepted a job teaching literature courses at another legendary institution, Belize Technical College, now part of the University of Belize. These courses, taught mainly at the Bliss Institute (now Bliss Center for Performing Arts), provided the seed for the Association.
Read more about this topic: United Black Association For Development
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