Dear Source:
In response to a letter to the editor entitled Another Way to Ask for Reparations by Glen J. Smith of St. Thomas, in which he states, this issue must be state driven with license from the Virgin Islands Legislature not a defacto group no matter how well are their intentions, it is important for Mr. Smith to be aware that on May 4th, 2005, working with Virgin Islands senators, ACRRA and the Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands made history when a landmark resolution passed into law in the former Danish West Indies became the first of its kind by a former Caribbean slave colony, whereby present day African descendants have organized to condemn the institution of slavery and seek reparations from a former European slave trading nation. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Celestino White and Senator Usie Richards and passed unanimously.
It reads as follows:
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, expresses support to the representatives of the African-Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance in their quest to seek reparations from Denmark for the enslavement of the people of the Virgin Islands commensurate in 1671; and, the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, encourages the Office of the Governor to explore creating models of reparations that might be adopted by The African-Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
Shelley A. Moorhead
St. Croix
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