ST. CROIX — The rain may have dampened the grass and benches, but it did not dampen the spirit of those who celebrated the life and legacy of David Hamilton Jackson during the annual Liberty Day ceremony held Saturday in the Grove Place park that bears the honoree’s name.
The scattered showers fizzled out by the time the guest speakers made their way to the podium in the gazebo shortly after 2 p.m. and held off until after the hour-long program concluded.
Attendance was sparse, but those who made it out — including residents and members of the United Steelworkers Union — heard from organizers, elected officials, and the keynote speaker about the impact left on the territory by Jackson.
Born on September 28, 1884, Jackson was an educator, lawyer, federal judge, pioneer of free press, and labor rights advocate. He died on May 30, 1946.
“Today, we gather not only to celebrate a man, but to carry on his legacy — a legacy of courage, conviction, and community,” said Jaynilah Williams, president of the Grove Place Action Committee, which organized the event. “David Hamilton Jackson stood as a towering figure in our history. He was a champion for free press, labor rights, and dignity for the people of our islands. Through his vision and sacrifice, he planted the seed of liberty that we may continue to harvest to this day.”
During the ceremony, Raymond Williams, the outgoing GPAC president, symbolically passed the torch to the new president — his cousin.
“You’re taking on a huge challenge,” he told her. “Officially, I am extending this torch to you, congratulating you on accepting the responsibility as our new president of Grove Place Action Committee.”
Jaynilah Williams said it was an honor to serve as the committee’s president.
“This is a new phase, and I have an awesome team behind of me,” she said.
Jackson established the St. Croix Labor Union in 1915 and published the Danish West Indies’ first free newspaper, The Herald, on November 1, 1915. Liberty Day, or D. Hamilton Jackson Day, is now celebrated each year on November 1.
“We’re here right now to honor a pivotal moment in our history, and this day is about renewing our commitment to the ideals that define us as Virgin Islanders,” Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett said. “D. Hamilton Jackson was really a personification of what we are as Virgin Islanders, as Crucians, as individuals who stand up for what’s right, who are not afraid, who sacrifice for our people, and to speak truth to power.”
Plaskett said Jackson traveled to Denmark in 1915 to challenge a law that banned independent newspapers in the then-Danish West Indies, leading to the publication of The Herald. She said his work extended far beyond free press, noting he organized the St. Croix Labor Union.
“He fought for fair wages, demanded dignity for working people,” she said. “His vision of liberty was not only freedom from oppression. It was always empowerment through education, labor rights, community actions.”
Plaskett said Jackson’s courage to speak truth to power is a reminder of an enduring truth — liberty is not given.
“It is earned and defended every day,” she said.
Plaskett said that staying silent and passive will not protect or preserve freedom. Instead, she said people must actively stand up, honor the struggles and sacrifices of those who fought before them, and continue fighting for their rights. She said the freedoms and benefits currently granted — especially by the federal government — are far less than what Virgin Islanders truly deserve. After centuries of exploitation by seven nations, she said Virgin Islanders must claim their rights and future themselves, rather than waiting for others to grant them handouts.
“That’s the lesson to me of D. Hamilton Jackson — one man going against a kingdom, the Danish kingdom,” she said. “Each one of us must define what is for us to stand up for, what is for us to fight for and do that work. Press on, my people. Fight, my people. Do, my people, do. Not sit, my people, sit. Not expect to be given, my people, expect. But do, my people, do.”
Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach pointed out that he and Jackson have the profession of journalism in common. He questioned whether people understand the significance of Jackson’s advocacy for a free press, noting that Jackson was concerned with keeping people informed and limiting the government’s control of the press.
“He wanted to ensure that, somewhere, somehow, some unfiltered amount of information that spoke to the real conditions under which people lived would come to those people, unedited and uncensored,” he said.
Roach warned that although “information” is abundant, it has become increasingly difficult to share messages, especially now that the telling of “our own history” is under attack by the country’s controlling political forces that want to erase or censor African history by removing it from museums and school curricula.
“It puts the task to us to stand in the gap of any information that they destroy or they hide, to uncover and to share with people the truths of our history,” Roach said. “And one important and undying one is the importance and the significance of people like D. Hamilton Jackson.”
Percival Edwards, an activist, historian, agriculture advocate, school monitor, and president of St. Croix Farmers In Action, delivered the keynote address as he provided an overview of Jackson’s life and accomplishments. He discussed how Jackson was baptised in the Moravian church, had parents who were educators, and excelled in education as he could read, write, and do math by the age of 5.
In addition to advocating for labor rights, Edwards noted that Jackson was 31 when he traveled to Denmark in 1915 to speak up for a free press. He said Jackson supported the 1917 transfer of the former Danish West Indies to the United States, noting that Jackson began studying the U.S. Constitution before pursuing a law degree. He said Jackson was the first Black man in the Caribbean to earn a law degree, adding that Jackson passed the bar exam in 1919 in Indiana. After being appointed as a federal judge in 1931 by then-President Herbert Hoover, Edwards said Jackson served on the bench for about 10 years before joining the Municipal Council.
“If you take all his accomplishments from an educator to an editor, a publisher, an attorney, a councilman, a Municipal Council, and all his accomplishments, we need a Netflix movie,” he said. “We need to know that Virgin Islanders throughout the states could sit down in their house and say, ‘Liberty Day, David Hamilton Jackson Day, Bull and Bread Day — this is what’s taking place in Grove Place.’”
As the ceremony concluded, Kai Nielsen, GPAC secretary, honored Edwards by presenting him with a plaque on behalf of the committee for his “unwavering dedication, selfless service, and lasting contribution to the Grove Place community as well as St. Croix.”
Jennell Petersen, GPAC vice president, closed the ceremony.
“As we come to the close of today’s program, I want to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation to all who made this event possible,” she said.
Petersen said the event reminded attendees of the power of collaboration, creativity, and community.
“Let’s continue to carry that spirit and legacy of David Hamilton Jackson with us as we move forward,” she said.
Attendees were then treated to the traditional serving of bull and bread as the GPAC volunteers prepared 350 pounds of bull that was served with potato stuffing, titi bread, and “taddy,” a citrus-rum drink.
