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 Washington, D.C. riots in the rebuilding of D.C. after the 1968 riots. When the riots first broke out, Fauntroy expressed his connection with Dr. King, stating that "There is no one in the city whose heart is more crushed and broken than (his)" after King's assassination. He challenged people to "Handle your grief the way Dr. King would have wanted it," and those who acted otherwise "do dishonor to the life and mission of Dr. King." Following the riots, Fauntroy proposed a program that would allow property owners the right to build bigger and more profitable buildings as long as they spend money