By Lincoln DePradine

Dr. Akwatu Khenti is well known as an unabashed proponent and advocate of Pan-Africanism and pride in African history and culture, as well as an advocate of Black collective self-reliance, unity and empowerment among Africans on the continent, in Canada and the rest of the Diaspora.

Khenti, who has had a name change as part of his complete embrace of Pan-Africanism, credits his father Philip Alleyne for his African and Black consciousness.

“He was the source and the grounding of my Black consciousness; watching him and learning from him,’’ Khenti told The Caribbean Camera in a comment on his father, who recently passed away.

Alleyne, who was 83, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where he and several cousins were raised by their grandmother, widely known as “Grandma Drew”. 

In his homeland, Alleyne was a public servant working as a corrections’ officer in the Trinidad and Tobago prison system. He also worked in sales, book-keeping and store management. 

In 1966, Alleyne married his childhood friend, Yvonne, who left her husband and two children, Akwatu and Sharon, in Trinidad three years later for Canada. She arrived here to work as a domestic caregiver.

Yvonne Alleyne was able to bring husband and kids to Canada in 1971.

According to the family, Philip Alleyne’s “early years in Canada was a struggle’’.

They recall him simultaneously working and attending school “to acquire technology knowledge and skills. His thirst for knowledge was reflected in consistent continuing education over two decades’’, which led to him earning a diploma as an electronics engineering technician; a diploma in TV/VCR repair; a certificate in microcomputers, installation and repair; a certificate in electronics’’; as well as a diploma in basic electricity.

His jobs in Canada, in the 1970s and 1980s, included stints as a spot welder at General Motors, an electromechanical technician at Littons, and an electronic technician at Dynatronics Electronics Services. 

“The unrelenting experiences of racism,’’ said a family source, “led Philip to become self-employed as a taxi driver in the 1990s. He would drive a cab for two decades because he loved the autonomy and independence it allowed him’’.

Alleyne, who also is remembered for his talent as a mouth organist and a lover of animals, as well as for his artistic ability, passion for sports and jazz, and for his exceptional baking of Trinidadian sugar cakes, black fruit cakes and sweet bread.

He also was renowned as the go-to repairman – for everything from cars and bicycles to TV, computers and washing machines – for family and friends.

After early retirement from work, Alleyne took painting and guitar lessons, and also classes in Tai Chi. 

Khenti, the first of his children, calls him a “beloved father and hero’’, admitting that his father “spoilt’’ him.

“He was firm on one hand but he spoilt me on the other, because he gave me so much room to go here, do this, do that; but it also allowed me to grow in the way that I have,’’ said Khenti, a university professor and health and policy equity specialist, who chaired Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity.

Alleyne was inspired by the lives of Black civil and human rights activists, Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X, and was said to have never missed an African Liberation Day march. 

“He was a true Pan-Africanist. He never instructed me in Pan-Africanism or told me I should be Pan-Africanist or nothing like that; but it just came through,’’ said Khenti.

In remembrance of Alleyne, family and friends will celebrate his life this Friday, May 17, 6 pm – 9 pm, at the Church of the Holy Trinity Guildwood, 85 Livingston Road, Scarborough.

Final respects to Alleyne will be offered at a service at the Church of the Holy Trinity Guildwood on Saturday May 18, starting at 11 am.

Alleyne is survived by his wife Yvonne and children Khenti, Sharon Alleyne and Philip Gordon.

Other surviving relatives include grandchildren Adisa, Riya, Raile, Akil, Asa, Ashya, Shirley, Micah, Cruz, Jaylen and Inara; as well as great grandchildren Aidan and Elias. 

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter