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
Rodney Island and destroying two major dune systems together with the construction of a major port facility from the eastern end of Shelburne Bay via Rodney Island to the deep water offshore. Public concern at the prospect of sandmining over parts of Shelburne Bay was a key factor in the implementation of the joint state and Commonwealth Cape York Land Use Study. This study, undertaken between 1989 and 1998, was to ensure that appropriate land use decisions on Cape York would be made following wide public consultation and an assessment of competing land uses and values. The Shelburne Bay project was worth