Small aimed to empower the ordinary people of The Gambia, especially the farmers and workers. As one of the few educated Africans in the country , he aimed to empower them with knowledge and information. He organized evening classes for village folk , and founded the first nationalist newspaper in the country. He used this to reach his followers even when in exile in Senegal. He founded the Gambia Native Defense Union (GNDU) alongside other Akus. He also founded The Gambia Farmer ’ s Cooperative Association in 1917, and the Bathurst Trade Union in 1929. He attended a conference in Accra, the Gold Coast, in 1920, delivering a speech on the right of West Africans to self-rule. The result of the conference was the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa, and Small set up the Gambian branch on his return. In 1922 , Small founded a newspaper, the Gambia Outlook and Senegambian Reporter, which was published for the first time in Dakar (Senegal) in May of that year.Hughes, Arnold; anf Perfect, David; Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, Scarecrow Press (2008), p. 158, It was one of the ealier newspapers with a Pan-African/Senegambian philosophy. In 1929 , his trade union organise the country's first strike. His slogan for much of his campaigning was ‘ no taxation without representation ’ . In the 1930s , Small founded in the Rate Payers' Association (RPA), which was effectively the country's first political party and dominated local politics in Bathurst. The RPA won all six seats  open to African candidates in the 1936 elections.History of the Independence Movement AboutGambia.comThe Road to Independence Daily Observer In the 1930s, Small created a political network during his visit to the French West Africa (AOF).Keller, Kathleen, Colonial Suspects: Suspicion, Imperial Rule, and Colonial Society in Interwar French West Africa, U of Nebraska Press (2018), pp. 17, 104, 173, In June 1931, Small took his mission to Dakar accompanied by his secretary Boubakar Secka. Senegal at the time, had a growing interest in communism and pan-Africanism. On his visit, Small met several Senegalese activists with communist, anti-colonial and pan-African ideologies. The room he rented on Rue Félix Faure became a meeting place where Small would discuss his political ideologies. Some of Small's AOF acquaintances included Ernest Cherry, an individual involved in the League for the Defence of the Negro Race (LDNR),Weiss, Holger (2013) Framing a Radical African Atlantic: African American Agency, West African Intellectuals and the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers, p. 179, BRILL with ties to the French League against Colonial Oppression; Fofana Coulibaly, a former teacher from French Guinea with extremist ideology and anti-French sentiments; and Raphael Mensah, a man "on a list of individuals suspected of being sympathizers of the revolutionary movement." Small also had links with English-speaking Blacks including William Winston, one of those involved in the Garveyist incidents of 1922. Small first appointed to the Legislative Council on 31 December 1941 representing Bathurst Municipal Council. In 1947 , the first elections were held for a seat on the Legislative Council. Backed by his trade union, Small was victorious, defeating I. M. Garba Jahumpa and Sheikh Omar Faye. He was subsequently appointed to the Executive Council on 11 December 1947, and was later reappointed to the council on 18 January and 12 June 1951. He continued to be involved in Gambian politics until his death in January 1958.
Small aimed to empower the ordinary people of Gambia, especially farmers and workers. As one of the few educated Africans in the territory , he aimed to empower them with knowledge and information. He organised evening classes for village people , and founded the first nationalist newspaper in the country. He used this to reach his followers even when in exile in Senegal. He founded the Gambia Native Defense Union (GNDU) alongside other Akus. He also founded The Gambia Farmer ' s Cooperative Association in 1917, and the Bathurst Trade Union in 1929. He attended a conference in Accra, the Gold Coast, in 1920, delivering a speech on the right of West Africans to self-rule. The result of the conference was the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa, and Small set up the Gambian branch on his return. In 1922 Small founded a newspaper, the Gambia Outlook and Senegambian Reporter, which was published for the first time in Dakar (Senegal) in May of that year.Hughes, Arnold; anf Perfect, David; Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, Scarecrow Press (2008), p. 158, It was one of the earlier newspapers with a Pan-African/Senegambian philosophy. In 1929 his trade union organised the country's first strike. His slogan for much of his campaigning was " no taxation without representation " . In the 1930s Small founded in the Rate Payers' Association (RPA), which was effectively the country's first political party and dominated local politics in Bathurst. The RPA won all six seats on the municipal council open to African candidates in the 1936 elections.History of the Independence Movement AboutGambia.comThe Road to Independence Daily Observer Small also created a political network during his visit to the French West Africa (AOF).Keller, Kathleen, Colonial Suspects: Suspicion, Imperial Rule, and Colonial Society in Interwar French West Africa, U of Nebraska Press (2018), pp. 17, 104, 173, In June 1931, Small took his mission to Dakar accompanied by his secretary Boubakar Secka. Senegal at the time, had a growing interest in communism and pan-Africanism. On his visit, Small met several Senegalese activists with communist, anti-colonial and pan-African ideologies. The room he rented on Rue Félix Faure became a meeting place where Small would discuss his political ideologies. Some of Small's AOF acquaintances included Ernest Cherry, an individual involved in the League for the Defence of the Negro Race (LDNR),Weiss, Holger (2013) Framing a Radical African Atlantic: African American Agency, West African Intellectuals and the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers, p. 179, BRILL with ties to the French League against Colonial Oppression; Fofana Coulibaly, a former teacher from French Guinea with extremist ideology and anti-French sentiments; and Raphael Mensah, a man "on a list of individuals suspected of being sympathizers of the revolutionary movement." Small also had links with English-speaking blacks including William Winston, one of the people involved in the Garveyist incidents of 1922. Small was appointed to the Legislative Council on 31 December 1941 representing Bathurst Municipal Council. In 1947 the first direct elections were held for a seat on the Legislative Council. Backed by his trade union, Small was victorious, defeating I. M. Garba Jahumpa and Sheikh Omar Faye. He was subsequently appointed to the Executive Council on 11 December 1947, and was later reappointed to the council on 18 January and 12 June 1951. He continued to be involved in Gambian politics until his death in January 1958.
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