Marks lauds former statesman E. Leopold Edwards

E. Leopold Edwards, a towering figure in the Jamaican and Caribbean-American community in Washington, DC, for more than seven decades, is being remembered and hailed as an “elder statesman”.

His departure marks, “without question, the closing of a distinctive era and chapter in the Jamaican-American community, and in the Caribbean-American community as well.”

So declared Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey P. Marks, in a statement reacting to his death at home in Silver Spring, Maryland, last week Saturday. He was 95.

Ambassador Marks conveyed her “very deep, heartfelt sympathies to Carmen, Leo’s wife and ever-present co-labourer in the cause of Caribbean-American affairs, and to son Hugh and the rest of the Edwards family, and likewise to the many friends and fellow labourers now mourning.” She added: “This has to be a truly difficult time, especially in the present circumstances restricting us from being able to pay respects in person”.

Eric Leopold Edwards was born in Jamaica and arrived in Washington, DC, in September 1948, to study at Howard University. The trail he blazed during his more than 70 years of advocacy played a key role in winning recognition and respect for the Jamaican and Caribbean communities in the Washington, DC, Baltimore metropolitan area, said Ambassador Marks. She noted that the late Edwards leaves a legacy that includes, “his service as an early president of the Caribbean Students Association at Howard University, from 1949 to 1955 and later in the Caribbean-American Intercultural Organization and the National Coalition on Caribbean Affairs.”

Edwards’ numerous other trailblazing activities and notable contributions included being a founding patron of the Washington-based Caribbean American Political Action Committee, and founding president of the Council of Caribbean Organizations, Inc; a founding member and secretary of the Jamaica Nationals Development Foundation; and chairman of TransAfrica DC Metropolitan Chapter’s board of directors.

She noted that the Jamaican Government recognised his worth by bestowing on him the prestigious national Order of Distinction.