FAWKES, RANDOL (aka Sir Randol Francis Fawkes, 20 March 1924–15 June 2000), Bahamian politician, trade union leader, and lawyer perhaps best known for swinging the 1967 general election to bring back Black majority rule. At the time, the British colony was ruled by a White elite, the “Bay Street” clique, despite its majority Black population (85 percent). Fawkes was the catalyst of the Bahamian labor movement during the mid-1950s and one of The Bahamas' early Black lawyers. He founded and led the Bahamas Federation of Labor (BFL), an organization of unions and members of various trade unions. The causes of the Progressive Liberal Party and the BFL were closely linked and often shared common membership. Fawkes’ leadership in organizing labor helped strengthen the Progressive Liberal Party, most notably during the 1958 general strike.
In 1961, Fawkes successfully pushed a bill through the House of Assembly that established Labor Day as a public holiday. In recognition of his contributions to the trade union movement and the country, he was conferred a knighthood by Elizabeth II in 1978. Labor Day is now celebrated in the Bahamas as Randol Fawkes Labor Day.