On Monday evening at 81C, millennial organizers and emerging political candidates operating under the name TheFuture unveiled a plan to reshape territorial politics during their first public meeting.
Blending strategy, history and generational frustration over the state of governance in the Virgin Islands, organizers used this event to outline their overall vision. Founders described plans to recruit and vet 11 senatorial candidates, five from St. Thomas, five from St. Croix and one at-large, along with candidates for the Board of Education and the Board of Elections.
To sort and evaluate would-be candidates, organizers unveiled a 23‑marker rubric covering areas such as community engagement, professional background, policy competence, gender equity, ethics, emotional intelligence and budget fluency.
They said the rubric will be available to all interested senatorial and board candidates, not only those already affiliated with the group, and that endorsements will be issued only after the Elections System formally certifies the ballot.
On its website, TheFuture describes itself as “a community-rooted, ethics-first unified slate of candidates committed to delivering honest government, economic dignity, and a resilient Virgin Islands for all generations.” The site also promises “strategic oversight and public accountability from an Advisory Board of respected Virgin Islanders.”
At the meeting, speakers focused on systemic reform rather than single-issue campaigning. Topics raised included the territory’s struggling energy infrastructure, the rising cost and limited availability of housing, public education reform, health care access and long-term economic vitality for residents.
“What I have learned in my time is that everything here is broken, and everything here is broken by design,” said Imani Daniel, a founder of TheFuture and delegate to the Sixth Constitutional Convention, referring to a long process of neocolonial governance that has shaped the territory’s political and economic systems in ways that do not benefit local residents.
Rudel Hodge Jr., also a delegate to the Sixth Constitutional Convention, is one of TheFuture’s founders and a declared candidate for the Legislature.
“The lack of information is by design. That’s one thing TheFuture is trying to change,” said Hodge, responding to the recurring theme for the need for better systems to access information needed to make an informed vote. “We are building a digital infrastructure that people of our generation and other generations can use to access information in real time, navigate policy and platforms, and explore our history.”
Shani DeWindt, a Virgin Islands creator and one of the seven founders of TheFuture, addressed how the group plans to use media to engage residents, saying, “I always lead with empathy and emotional intelligence. People are on different levels of understanding, so we will engage as much or as little as they want. The people of the Virgin Islands don’t have time to babysit the leaders they elect, and too often that trust is taken advantage of.”
“We hope the frameworks we are creating now put that trust in us and help keep elected officials ethical and accountable. I know there is economic stress, disaster stress, and a lot weighing on residents here. My goal over the last 15 years in the system has been to help alleviate that, and this effort is part of that work,” she continued.
Hadiya Sewer, a sociologist from St. John and declared candidate for senator at large, told the crowd that basic quality-of-life issues should not be considered radical demands. “We want affordable and accessible health care, we want affordable housing, we want a good quality of life for our children, we want food security, we want reliable transportation. These things shouldn’t even be radical, because we just want dignity and a good quality of life for all of us as Virgin Islanders,” she said.
Explaining her motivation for running, Sewer added, “I didn’t want to just be studying colonialism, Latin rights and environmental justice with people who might have seen it as theory. I wanted to come home and work with my community to say, ‘How are we going to solve these issues together?’”
She quoted Frantz Fanon: “Every generation out of relative obscurity has to find their mission in the ongoing struggle for liberation and fulfill it or betray it.” She then asked the room, “But my question for you is, what would you say our mission is in this particular generation?”
The event was highly collaborative, with dozens of cross-generational Virgin Islanders raising concerns about economic opportunity, environmental harm, the condition of local schools, and issues with the territory’s Water and Power Authority, while also calling for stronger leadership. Despite these challenges, there was a palpable sense of hope as many attendees pledged their support for the founders and their vision.
“It’s a people first movement,” said Daniel. “This entire movement is based on who we’re choosing as leadership, who we are believing in, and who we are putting forth in the future — not just now, but forever — in succession planning, investment and all the values we collectively believe in but have not seen.”
