“My life has been about giving and bringing hope to those who believe that they’re nobody, that’s my life.”
-Cynthia "Mother" Pratt
Cynthia Pratt was born to Herman and Rose Moxey of Mangrove Cay, Andros, and the Bluff Eleuthera, respectively. She began her early education at Woodcock Primary School, the Western Junior and Seniors Schools, and A.F. Adderley and C.H. Reeves Schools. She then pursued a course at the School of Nursing and graduated as a trained nurse, where she began working in the field for fourteen years in the operating theatre. Cynthia was then transferred from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Education where she taught Physical Education at C.C Sweeting Secondary School before leaving to study abroad at St. Augustine’s College, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Education with a minor in Sociology.
In her efforts to improve the fate of students throughout The Bahamas, she assisted hundreds of students in obtaining tertiary-level education at St. Augustine’s College, North Carolina. She was a most valuable player who helped to lead the Bahamas National softball team to a bronze medal at the World Games held in Santa Clara California. It was during these times she was given the name “Mother”. Her willingness to help others, her advice, her leadership, and the one labeled as the glue that kept it all together. Cynthia “Mother” Pratt was also a member of the National Basketball and Netball Teams.
After completing her degree and returning to C.C. Sweeting she later moved to Tertiary Education by becoming a part-time Lecturer and the Assistant Student Activities Director at the College of The Bahamas. After retiring from the College of The Bahamas she was voted by the constituents of St. Cecilia to become their Member of Parliament, becoming the second female of the PLP to be elected. She became the first female to hold the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Mother Pratt was also appointed the Minister of National Security, she is the founder of the Coconut Grove Community Center (for males) and the Cecilia Community Club (for females).
Mother Pratt is a devoted Christian, an ordained Minister, and a Sunday School Superintendent. She was married to the late Joseph B. Pratt with 6 children.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security the Hon. Cynthia Pratt (right) poses with the first Bahamian women to attain the post of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ms. Juanita Colebrooke, during a courtesy call at her Ministry, on March 20, 2007. (BIS photo: Derek Smith)
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt speaking at the 77th Annual Convention of the International Association of Ministers’ Wives and Ministers’ Widows Inc (IAMWMW) in Freeport, Grand Bahama in June of 2017. (Tribune Photo)
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt presents a copy of her book to Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis on November 1, 2017.
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt was awarded the 2019 Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement Award and an NPAN certificate as a 21st-century Pan-African “change agent” in May of 2019. NPAN awarded Mrs. Pratt for her long-standing commitment to community building. (Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff)
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis pays a Courtesy Call on Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, Deputy to the Governor General, at the Office of the Governor General, One Montague Place, on Thursday, November 25, 2021. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson)
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt speaking at her official book launch at the British Colonial Hilton. (Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff)
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt sworn in as Deputy to the Governor General yesterday by Chief Justice Sir Brian Moree. (Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS)
Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security was sworn-in as Deputy to the Governor General by the Hon. Sir Brian Moree, Q.C., Kt., Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, during a Swearing-In Ceremony at Paul Farquharson Centre, Royal Bahamas Police Force headquarters, on Thursday, October 28th, 2021. (BIS Photos/Letisha Henderson)
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis pays a Courtesy Call on Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, Deputy to the Governor General, at the Office of the Governor General, One Montague Place, on Thursday, November 25, 2021. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson)
Cynthia Alexandra Pratt, CD, JP, was sworn in as Deputy to the Governor General on Monday, April 11, 2022. The ceremony was administered by the Hon. Chief Justice Sir Brian Moree, QC, at the Office of the Governor General. (BIS Photos/Patrick Hanna)
Cynthia A. Pratt was sworn in as Deputy to the Governor General by the Hon. Mr. Chief Justice Ian Winder during a brief ceremony at the Office of the Governor General, on September 15, 2022. (BIS Photos/Letisha Henderson)
Chief Justice Ian Winder, Deputy to the Governor General Cynthia Pratt and Court of Appeal Justice Sir Brian Moree (BIS Photos/Patrick Hanna)
Cynthia Pratt, Deputy to the Governor General, toured the famous Straw Market, greeting straw vendors, tourists and wood carvers on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
Female Political 'Firsts' Honoured in Ceremony; First Female Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia "Mother" Pratt.
The Rt. Hon. Dr. Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (Photo Credit: Black Women in Media)
Cynthia A. Pratt was affirmed as Deputy to the Governor General by the Hon. Mr. Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder during a brief ceremony at the Office of the Governor General, Sunday, February 26, 2023. (BIS Photos/Letisha Henderson)
Great Women in Bahamian History by