Political Quotes

“I rise with deep pride and reverence to honor Contract Day, recognized annually in the Virgin Islands on October 1. This day is one of the most defining in our history, and it honors and also celebrates four women, queens, who led the St. Croix Labor Rebellion of 1878, also known as Fireburn. After slaves in the Danish West Indies organized, fought, and received their freedom from chattel slavery in 1848, a new type of slavery was formed to regulate the conditions of the now free workers. The law stipulated a day wage and confined workers to one plantation each year, changeable only on Contract Day, October 1. These contracts offered no true liberty, forcing families into conditions that mirrored the impression of bondage. Former slaves worked on the same plantations as before with little to no improvement in their living conditions, healthcare, education, even their very movement. With rumors of improved conditions proving false, on October 1, 1878, the frustration and anger from the past 30 years of unfair treatment and harsh labor practices after obtaining freedom ignited a rebellion in Frederiksted, St. Croix. Our people declared enough is enough. Out of their courage came one of the most powerful labor uprisings in the Caribbean, one that continues to shape our identity and our fight for justice today.”