By Karyl Walker
Eulalee Bax has lived a storied life. One that saw her rise from poverty in Jamaica to become the mother of one of South Florida’s most accomplished politicians.
But her life has not been easy.
Bax, 86, migrated to New York from Jamaica in racially-charged 1967. She overcame several challenges to nurture a daughter who became Mayor of Lauderhill Lakes — Hazelle Rogers.
“I did what I had to do. I never let them miss school one day. I let her achieve all she wanted to achieve. I am very proud of her,” Bax told Caribbean National Weekly.
At the age of ten, tragedy struck when Bax’ mother died. Five years later, she moved from Alexandria in St. Ann to Kingston in search of a better life. This was the era of colonial rule and life for a rural, black Jamaican female was hard. But, driven by a fierce ambition to succeed, Bax was undaunted.
Several years later, she opened a supper shop in the Central Kingston community of Allman Town. Soon after, she became a mother and increased responsibilities influenced her to go to
England in 1961 but the damp, cold climes were not to her liking and she returned home.
“England was not for me,” she said.
In 1967, Bax jumped at another opportunity to migrate, this time to Brooklyn, New York. There, she also fell on hard times.
“In those times I could hardly get work. It was only housework. I was not a citizen,” she said.
As fate would have it, Bax found work in hospitals and factories, all the time the single parent thought about sending for her three children in Jamaica.
“I could not take them all at once so I sent for them one by one,” she recalled.
Rogers, her oldest child, was the first to join her in 1969. After a number of years in New York, Bax again fled the cold and relocated to Florida with her children — another daughter and a son.
The year was 1982. Fourteen years later, Hazelle Rogers became the first Caribbean-American elected to political office in the Southeastern USA. She became City Commissioner of Lauderdale Lakes, serving for 12 years before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2008. Rogers also served as president of the Broward League of Cities in 2004.
Mayor Rogers was Democratic Deputy Whip from 2010-2012, and 2012-2016. She has been Democratic Ranking Member on the House Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee since 2012.
Rogers credits Bax for instilling positive values that have impacted her political life.
“Mom has always been an inspiration to me. When I look at how she had to struggle her way through. She has been a very strong mother and we are very proud of her. She has shaped my experience which helps me to try and make the right decisions in my public life,” she said.
Eulalee Bax is still walking the good walk. She has all her faculties intact and speaks with a wit that belies her years. For Mother’s Day, her four children will honor a family tradition by attending church with her.
