Early years of militancy of exile Jacqueline Creft studied political science at
Carleton University in
Ottawa, Canada, and returned to Grenada at the end of 1971. She became involved in the revolutionary struggle early on, and was already participating in the New Jewel Movement from its beginning. In January 1973, she was among those who led an unprecedented protest against the British aristocrat
Lord Brownlow, when he erected a gate on his estate of La Sagesse, denying the community its traditional privileges of access to the beach and use of the pastures. The protest was organized by members of
JEWEL, including Maurice Bishop. In 1976 and 1977, Creft resided in
Trinidad and Tobago, where she was the regional coordinator for youth affairs within Christian Action for Development in the Eastern Caribbean (CADEC), a branch of the
Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC), until the government of
Eric Williams (influenced by journalist Rickey Singh) banned her from the country. She returned to Grenada in 1977, but the government of Prime Minister
Eric Gairy refused to give her work "as I was a new mother", Jacqueline complained. On 4 December 1977, Creft's son Vladimir was born. She then travelled to
Barbados with the organization Women and Development. She returned to Grenada to participate in the revolution of 13 March 1979.
The challenge of transforming the education system In January 1980, Creft was appointed Minister of Education of the People's Revolutionary Government. She coordinated the Volunteer School Repair programmes and was in charge of
Cuban scholarships. The revolution was especially committed to the construction of more schools and the eradication of illiteracy. Creft was dedicated to the transformation of the educational system inherited from colonialism, with the challenge of making it relevant to the population, and making education a right rather than a privilege. In December 1986, 14 people (including Bernard and Phyllis Coard) were convicted of murder, and three of manslaughter – the so-called
Grenada 17 – for their role in the killings. ==Personal life==