The Women Who Stopped A Train To Repeal This Law

Buxton, Guayana, was a tightly woven community. The shackles of chattel slavery were lifted in 1838, and within two years, hundreds of residents united in their resilience and pooled their money to purchase a 500-acre plantation. They laid a beautiful foundation for their new lives, but the government kept playing in their faces.

The people of Buxton built roads, established farms, and elected a council to maintain the village’s infrastructure. While they were busy building, colonists flooded their farms and ripped them from their homes. The villagers were ready for war when the government introduced an anti-Black tax law to undermine their success.

Buxton administrators tried reasoning with government officials but were ignored. When the villagers got word that the British governor would be passing through, they went to stop him in his tracks.

As the train chugged into town, the fearless women of Buxton lined the tracks, holding axes, daggers, and sticks and with unwavering courage in their hearts. The train screeched to a halt, and the women chain-locked the wheels. The governor had no choice but to do the right thing and repeal the law.

When we stand together, unified and aligned in our mission, our collective power is unstoppable —not even by a moving train.