We are nothing on this earth if we are not in the first place the slaves of a cause, the cause of a people, the cause of justice and liberty.–Franz Fanon
· Age 31
· University of the Virgin Islands, BA English 2001 (Magna cum Laude)
Working towards Masters Degree in Library and Information Technology (on-line program with University of Pittsburgh), scholarship recipient.
· Good Hope School, 1993
· Teacher
· CASA volunteer; former Board Member Caribbean Community Theater; Board Member Court Yard Players; Member St. Croix Sankofa for the Cultural Arts; Member Per Ankh, Inc., Member Vibes Poetic
June 1, 2007 – We are at a pivotal crossroad in the continuum of Virgin Islands' history. At this juncture we as a community must decide what is important enough to us to include in a document that will not only tell our future generations, but will tell the outside world as well–"This is what being a Virgin Islander is."
In our constitution we must:
1. Include a "Bill of Rights." We must ensure that the basic human rights of all here in the Virgin Islands are legally protected and firmly state that the basic humanity of our people is significant enough to us to safeguard.
2. Protect the cultural and environmental heritage of the Virgin Islands. Without the tangible and intangible intimacies of our collective pasts being protected, we will have nothing to offer our future generations. The inheritance that we bequeath to our children must be one that embraces and showcases our rich heritage as people of African descent rather than one that embraces and defines us as mere subjects of colonial powers.
3. Reform our bureaucratic political legacy of colonialism by implementing a system that will make certain our governmental employees are accountable for their actions through a structure that allows for improved checks and balances.
4. Revamp our educational system so that it will better prepare our children to compete in this ever-shrinking global community.
Words by Franz Fanon:
If man is known by his acts, then we will say that the most urgent thing today for the intellectual is to build up his nation. If this building up is true, that is to say if it interprets the manifest will of the people and reveals the eager African peoples, then the building of a nation is of necessity accompanied by the discovery and encouragement of universalizing values. Far from keeping aloof from other nations, therefore, it is national liberation, which leads the nation to play its part on the stage of history. It is at the heart of national consciousness that international consciousness lives and grows.
There is no reason why we are today still plagued by the same issues that haunted Queen Mary in 1878 and prompted her and the other brave souls to revolt against the establishment. We must ensure that her efforts and those of other vanguard Virgin Islanders are were not done in vain, being simply reduced to an almost mythical existence. We must ensure that we are no longer weighed down by the ills of colonialism, but rather rise from the ashes and declare ourselves the men and women that we are. We must empower our people.
Tuesday, June 12, vote Oceana James. Vote No. 22!
