June 29, 2007 — The African-Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance (ACRRA) has rescheduled its St. Thomas meeting on the local V.I. reparations movement.
At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, local activists, educators and V.I. officials will come together at Palms Court Harbor View. ACRRA members will provide updates on the local reparations movement and the group will discuss its second trip to Denmark this fall. There have been two previous meetings on St. Croix; this will be the first on St. Thomas.
The U.S. Virgin Islands were formerly owned by Denmark from 1691 until they were sold to the United States in 1917. The Danes brought more than 100,000 enslaved Africans to the West Indies before Denmark outlawed the slave trade in 1792. The practice of owning slaves would not be abolished locally until 1848.
Since its commencement in 2005, ACRRA has garnered support from local political officials. Delegate Donna M. Christensen was set to hold a conference call on Tuesday “to begin the process of planning support and participation in the reparations delegation set for this fall,” a press release from ACRRA noted. Christiansen has traveled to Denmark as a delegate on behalf of the reparations movement.
A reparations model has been in place since 2005 between ACRRA and the Danish Institute for Human Rights The organizations signed a memorandum of understanding that same year to research the effects of slavery during Danish rule.
ACCRA was founded by Shelley Moorhead. Its goal is to seek reparations for the years of enslavement during Danish rule. During a press conference, Moorhead said the wealth gained from the slave trade escalated Denmark to one of the best countries in the world in which to live.
The organization is not seeking monetary compensation. Moorhead has said he is more interested in “what the collective Danish consciousness produces.” He has visited several high schools in Denmark, educating them on the slave trade.
For more information, visit acrra.org.
