Struggle to Strength: The Legacy of Mother Pratt

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – On Wednesday evening, supporters gathered at the University of The Bahamas for the launch of From the Pit to the Palace: The Autobiography of Her Excellency Dame Cynthia “Mother” Pratt.

Our Evlynn Ferguson was at the launch and tells us more in this report.

Last night’s book launch was attended by family, friends and members of the political elite.

From the Pit to the Palace is the life story and autobiography of Dame Cynthia “Mother” Pratt, the 12th governor-general of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Wednesday night’s launch was not just about reflecting on her life and experiences. It was also about confronting national hardships.

One of the featured speakers was former Prime Minister Perry Christie, who appointed Dame Cynthia as the country’s first deputy prime minister in 2002, a position she held until 2007.

Christie spoke about the power of her words in the book, describing how they offer a window into a time when poverty weighed heavily on Bahamian families.

Perry Christie – Former Prime Minister and Leader of the PLP

“Dame Cynthia’s book captures the incredible level of human degradation, the deep hole that you had to climb out of, the overwhelming obstacles in one’s path. And then, when one is subjected to being the 13th of 16 children, the first question you ask is, how do you support that amount of children at a time when people were subjected to levels of inequality that put incredible pressure on families? I’ve never read a book that is so frank, so open.”

Former Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Allison Maynard-Gibson also delivered remarks, recalling a time when gang tensions gripped a community and Dame Cynthia served as national security minister.

Maynard-Gibson said that despite warnings not to go, Mother Pratt joined the then commissioner of police and visited at-risk young men.

Allison Maynard-Gibson – Former Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs

“She went right there. She sat with those gangs. She listened. It was a very, very heated time. She listened to what those young men had to say, and she made them a part of the solution. That’s the kind of woman that our Mother Pratt is.”

Throughout the night, many who knew her reflected on her decades of service and her mission to help underprivileged families and rebuild inner-city communities through the Cynthia “Mother” Pratt Foundation, which was established in 2011.