In a pivotal episode of the seminal Garifuna Experience Podcast, Honduran-born host José Francisco Ávila, chair of the Board of Directors of the Bronx-based Garifuna Coalition, U.S.A., Inc., on Jul. 22, unearthed a remarkable, nearly 200-year-old piece of New York City history, diving into “The Drama of King Shotaway.”
The Garifuna, an ethnic group of mixed African and indigenous Caribbean descent, historically known as the Black Caribs, originated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where Africans who escaped slavery intermarried with the indigenous Kalinago people.
After conflicts with British colonizers, the Garifuna were exiled to Central America in the 18th century, settling primarily in Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
The Garifuna are renowned for their unique culture, which includes language, music, dance, and spirituality and blends African, Amerindian, and Christian influences.
“The Drama of King Shotaway” is a groundbreaking play from 1823, widely celebrated as the first African American play written by a Black playwright.
“But what makes this play a cultural landmark is its subject: The heroic defense of St. Vincent by the Garifuna people, led by the revered Paramount Chief, Joseph Chatoyer,” Ávila told Caribbean Life.
In the podcast, Ávila explored the profound connections between Chatoyer’s valiant resistance and the pioneering vision of playwright William Henry Brown, founder of the African Grove Theatre, America’s first Black theater troupe, in New York City.
“This episode is a powerful testament to Garifuna people’s enduring spirit and serves as irrefutable evidence that Garifuna heritage has been an integral part of NYC’s cultural fabric from its earliest days,” Ávila said.
“It’s a story of resistance, art, and the indelible contributions that continue to drive prosperity, power, and progress for our community and the world,” he added.
During the podcast, Ávila said, “The Drama of King Shotaway immortalized Garifuna bravery and marked a pivotal moment in American theater.
“Imagine this: The Garifuna heritage has been an integral, though often uncredited, part of New York City’s cultural fabric for almost two centuries,” he said. “One of the earliest and most powerful pieces of evidence lies in a groundbreaking work from 1823.
“On June 20th and 21st of that year, a visionary playwright named William Henry Brown penned and staged ‘The Drama of King Shotaway,’ which is widely recognized as the very first African American play written by an African American,” he added. “Now, what makes this so extraordinary, so incredibly powerful, is that its subject was none other than the epic, heroic defense of St. Vincent by the Garifuna people against overwhelming British colonization in 1795.
“This valiant stand was led by our revered Paramount Chief, Joseph Chatoyer,” Ávila continued. “This profound connection highlights how our heritage, already recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity,’ has been a vital, enriching thread in the diverse cultural tapestry of New York City from its earliest, emerging days.
“Imagine leading a nation against a powerful empire, defending your people’s right to their ancestral lands,” he said. “The Right Excellent Joseph Chatoyer – he was not just a chief; he was a brilliant military strategist, the undisputed head of the Garifunas, then known to the British as the Black Caribs in St. Vincent.”
Ávila described Chatoyer as “a freedom fighter, a liberator, a brilliant tactician, and a staunch, unwavering enemy of colonialism.
“His role as Paramount Chief designated him not only as a high priest and spiritual leader, but also the commander-in-chief of all Carib warriors, and the undeniable head of state of the Garifuna Nation,” he said, stating that, on Mar. 14, 1795, Chatoyer made “the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire.”
Ávila said Brown immortalized Chatoyer and the Garifuna people’s defiant fight in his seminal play, “The Drama of King Shotaway.”
“This play is not just a piece of theater; it is celebrated as the first Black drama of the American Theatre, a pioneering work,” he said. “It’s subject – the 1795 Black Caribs (Garifunas) defense of the island of Saint Vincent against colonization by the British – etched our story into the very foundations of American performing arts.
“And Mr. Brown himself is rightly known as the first American playwright of African Descent, a true trailblazer,” Ávila added. “He was not only an American playwright but a visionary theatrical producer, a true entrepreneur of culture.”
He said William Alexander Brown was a free Black man, born in the West Indies, who gave up his job as a steward on a Liverpool, England, liner and purchased a house in New York City on the north side of Thompson Street.
Ávila said Brown noticed the lack of entertainment centers for free urban Blacks, and, in 1821, he decided to open an establishment in the backyard of his home, which he called the African Grove.
There, Ávila said Brown served food and drinks to his patrons, and encouraged readings of poetry and dramatic interludes.
“And within this incredibly fertile and groundbreaking context, Brown wrote and staged ‘The Drama of King Shotaway’ in 1823, a compelling historical drama based on the Black Carib war in St. Vincent,” Ávila said. “The very existence of ‘The Drama of King Shotaway’ and The African Grove Theatre is irrefutable, powerful evidence.
“It proves unequivocally that the Garifuna heritage, our struggle, our identity, our very story, was embedded in the cultural landscape of New York City from its earliest, formative days,” he added. “This play is not just a historical curiosity; it is a profound testament to the Garifuna people’s enduring spirit and their early, indelible contributions to the prosperity, power, and progress of this great city, paving the way for countless artists and cultural expressions to follow.”
On Mar. 14, 2002, Ávila said the Right Excellent Joseph Chatoyer, Paramount Chief of the Caribs (Garifuna), was declared the first National Hero of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Accordingly, he said Mar. 14 was declared National Heroes Day and a public holiday.
On this day, Ávila said St. Vincent and the Grenadines honors their national hero, The Right Excellent Joseph Chatoyer, Paramount Chief of the Caribs (Garifuna).
As part of the Heroes Day celebration, he said a wreath-laying ceremony is held at the obelisk at Dorsetshire Hill, overlooking the capital, Kingstown.
Ávila said the historic town of Punta Gorda in Honduras “holds the distinction of being Roatan Island’s oldest permanent settlement, as well as the first Garifuna community established in Central America.”
He said this is also the site of the only existing statue of Joseph Chatoyer, the Paramount Chief of the Garifuna People, in the Diaspora.