ARCHBISHOP ELTON GEORGE GRIFFITH

1913-1992

THE PASSING OF A HUMBLE LIBERATOR

Liberation Day

Express

March 30, 2000

Page 34

When Archbishop Elton George Griffith died on April 27, 1992, it was the death of the last surviving member of the Shouter Baptists who had fought for the removal of a ban passed in 1917, which prevented the Shouters from practicing their religion in the way known to them.

Griffith fought relentlessly for the liberation of the Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad and Tobago. The others have long gone to the great beyond.

Those who have studied the developments of the Spiritual Baptists will recall the stand he took in 1949, when he appeared before a Government-appointed committee to examine and make recommendations on the infamous Shouters Act of 1913. This Act was repealed on March 30, 1951 by another Act of Parliament.

George Elton Griffith came to Trinidad in 1941 as a pastor. He had left his home in Grenada to join company with his sister who lived in Port of Spain. In an interview with him in 1992, he revealed that when he arrived here he found it very strange that Baptists were not allowed to freely practise their religion. This was not the case in Grenada and this is why he began agitating for the removal of the ban while performing his pastoral duties.

Born October 27, 1913 at Monjulex, St Georges, Grenada, he was married to Elaine. Together they had six children, most of whom are abroad. In the early '40s, he was a member of the Trinidad Labour Party and close associate of Albert Gomes.

To a large extent, it was Gomes who assisted him in his successful efforts to liberate the Baptist community.

Pastor Griffith was fearless to the point of being rude, and he never for one moment hesitated to support what he considered equitable and just, even if it offended others. But more than that, he was brave enough to put himself in a vulnerable position to bring about results of his convictions.

This position was very clear when, in 1950, he bravely performed the first public baptism at Holkett River, Carenage, in the presence of Albert Gomes and other government dignitaries. At that time the Shouters' were still banned from such practices.

During the debate in Parliament, Albert Gomes, then Minister of Labour, paid tribute to Griffith for the work he had done for the 30,000 Baptists and he ended his submission by saying, "let the people have their freedom."

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