Legislature Marks African Liberation Day with Call for Justice, Reparations, Unity, and Cultural Renewal

On Friday, lawmakers convened at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall to commemorate African Liberation Day, a practice kept by the Legislature since 1990, the year after Act 5473 designated the third week in May as Virgin Islands African Heritage Week.  The legislation declares that “time should be set aside to remember our proud African heritage.” This year's ceremony featured a mix of dance, song, drumming and storytelling that highlighted the continued preservation of the ties between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the continent of Africa. Speakers, meanwhile, contemplated the theme: “We Call Attention to Justice and Reparations for Africa and People of African Descent.” The theme, said Senate President Milton Potter, “reminds us that the struggle for liberation did not end with the lowering of colonial flags. It continues today in the fight for economic justice, for control over our own resources, for the right to chart our own destinies and for the unity of African people across e...