Nestled under the mahogany tree at the northernmost crook of Hospital Ground, the family of the late Judge Cyril Michael sat in the early Thursday morning light, waiting for the renaming of a street in his honor and a ceremony that was at least 40 years in the making.
It was after his death in 1978 that the Legislature passed the resolution for the street naming, with signs erected at the top portion of the road near the Winston Raymo Recreation Center — also known as Bjere Gade — and near his house at the Norre Gade intersection east of the Diamond Barrel/Daylight Bakery. But it wasn’t until this year that Sen. Dwayne DeGraff was emailed the law by a friend of the judge, and reached out to the Public Works Department to get them made and installed, an effort that culminated in their unveiling Thursday.
DeGraff said that he also added to the law a new resolution to present the family with a perma-plaque of the original resolution, which was also bestowed during the ceremony.
Speaking on the significance of the moment, Public Works Commissioner Derek Gabriel said road namings serve as a way for the community to educate new generations on the contributions of past Virgin Islanders.
“Not only is it important, but it is necessary for us to be good stewards of our culture, our history and our desire to foster future leaders,” he noted.
Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach, an attorney by profession, added that the late judge was a powerful figure in local jurisprudence who contributed greatly to the evolution of the court system, from the early municipal system to the now V.I. Supreme Court.
“These ceremonies really give us an opportunity to pay tribute and homage to those people who are the foundation and who we owe all of this progress to, and to this growth to,” Roach said. “Judge Michael was truly a Renaissance man who was, among other talents and vocations, a soldier, a master musician, and a scholar.”
Born on St. Thomas in 1898 during the period of Denmark’s rule over the Danish West Indies, Michael was an accomplished musician, U.S. Navy veteran, educator, clerk of the U.S. District Court, U.S. District Court judge, Acting Police judge, Recorder of Deeds, and Municipal Court judge. He was also an honorary Assistant Attorney General of Georgia and an honorary Order of Kentucky Colonels.
Michael was a member of the Adams Juvenile Band, led by Alton Adams Sr. In 1924, the band toured with the United States Naval Band and made history when it became the first that was composed of all Afro-Caribbean musicians. Michael served as the first musician and often bandmaster.
