Walter Rodney his alma mater University of the West Indies in Mona. He was sharply critical of the middle class for its role in the post-independence Caribbean. He was also a strong critic of capitalism and argued for a socialist development template. On 15 October 1968 the government of Jamaica, led by prime minister Hugh Shearer, declared Rodney "persona non grata". The decision to ban him from ever returning to Jamaica and his subsequent dismissal by the University of the West Indies, Mona caused protests by students and the poor of West Kingston which escalated into a riot, known as the Rodney
1968 Mauritian riots was declared by the British authorities on the 22nd January 1968 and lasted for ten days. In their effort to restore order the British deployed three Bell H-13 Sioux helicopters and around 150 troops. Violence was contained to the urban areas of Port Louis and did not spread to the rest of the island. At least 25 people died before British troops and Mauritian police quelled the fighting. Prior to the riots the neighbourhoods of Cité Martial and Plaine Verte had been ethnically mixed areas for over a hundred years. The riots resulted in the two communities becoming ethnically heterogeneous