The light tap, tap of the drum heightened to a steady rhythm as Pan African Support Group Coordinator Leba Ola-Niyi stepped up to the microphone to speak about the significance of Emancipation Day, which, for Virgin Islanders, includes an ongoing struggle for identity and self-determination.
“We must understand that from the day they brought our ancestors from West Africa, our ancestors, they were fighting, organizing for their family. On the boats, they rose up, on the plantations, they rose up, they defined who they were. So when we talk about identity and self-determination, we honor what they did – they thought for themselves, they produced for themselves, governed for themselves,” he said. “We have an ongoing struggle to fight for that same kind of emancipation in this 23rd century, and today, that is also the significance for us.”
The Pan African Support Group has long hosted Emancipation Day activities on St. Thomas, with the familiar faces of Ola-Niyi, Anna Francis, Chris Petersen and Ras Amaha, among others, developing a program that’s meant to not only raise historical awareness, but advocate for the continued political and social evolution of Virgin Islands people – a message that continued to permeate every performance, poem and speech Monday.
“Today we celebrate Emancipation Day, but are we truly free? Because we know that freedom is not truly free and as a people, we must free ourselves from mental slavery,” Winifred Anthony-Todman narrated as the Voices of Love Choir belted out “Rivers of Babylon” under the bandstand in Emancipation Garden. “Today as we come together, let us not forget the blood and sweat, let us continue to be free,” she said.
Choir coordinator Glenn “Kwabena” Davis was among those honored by the 175th Emancipation Day Committee this year as Living Legends of Culture, along with Ola-Niyi, and Francis, who helped set up a range of heritage presentations throughout the Garden, along with vendor booths and displays highlighting the groups’ projects and activities.
“We wanted to say thank you to all those who have continued to put in the work for all of these years, hosting everything from Dolla’ fo’ Dolla’ to African Liberation Day,” Francis said of the array at her booth that featured photos of events from decades past to present. “The people who are people constantly doing these activities are so important.”
Among her ongoing efforts is a genealogy project that pulls together the history of families living in the territory from 1838 – much of which Francis said has been forgotten, or intentionally not taught.
Among the booths, Petersen also spoke to ceremony attendees about medical herbs found in the Virgin Islands, a science that she has also long been forgotten. Bay rum, combined with a bit of alcohol and water, can help beat the heat, while the sweet scent, or cattle tongue, is traditionally used for cuts, headaches and strains, she pointed out.
“A lot of our history, of our culture, is just fading away,” said Petersen. “But with so much going on in the world of health lately, everyone is turning back to the traditional herbs. Reintroducing them, explaining their importance and how they were used is something we think can be helpful to our community.”
Opening and closing the ceremony Monday was Jason Meade, who, for the past five years has also provided free snacks and cold water to participants. Meade, along with his three children, are conch-shell blowers, an art that Meade said he couldn’t wait to learn as a kid after he was first told the story about Emancipation Day and how it was commemorated.
“I learned how to do it from a fisherman, and I practiced and I practiced until I get I got it right. I can do it myself now and it was such a proud moment to teach it to my children,” he said. Meade’s air conditioning business supplies the funds for the snacks, which he said is his way of giving back, but also a gesture made in hopes that the people who take them hang around, watch the whole program and learn how meaningful Emancipation Day is for this community.
