Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com
ST JOHN, USVI: Racism seems to have raised it head on the idyllic island of St John, in the US Virgin Islands. A series of alleged hate crimes dating back to April 2003 have been reported by the Fretts, a black family on St John, who said they had confrontations with a white store owner in Cruz Bay.
The incidents escalated and came to a head on June 30 when Esther Frett was shoved by the storeowner who was subsequently arrested. On Aug. 30, news spread around the islands that Ester Frett had been kidnapped, raped and thrown into the sea.
The FBI has been called in to investigate the matter as a potential hate crime or civil rights violation.
Residents from all three Virgin Islands will converge on St. John on Oct. 1 to stage a protest march and rally. The event, named "Stopping Hate Crimes in the VI: Solidarity with the Frett Family and Others," will also feature open community forums on racism, sexual violence, economic disparity, status and the Virgin Islands' relationship with the United States, are scheduled for October 2nd to October 9th.
According to the organizers the activities will be "peaceful in nature in accordance with the community's demands for justice, harmony and respect."
St John is the smallest of the US Virgin Islands and is often described as unspoiled, tranquil and peaceful with beautiful white sandy beaches. The island is 20 square miles; 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. According to the 2000 census the population is 4,197.
Wealthy families such as the Rockefellers, known as the richest family in the United States and several other countries, flock to the island seeking the privacy and unspoiled beauty of the only American owned Caribbean islands. In 1956, the Rockefellers bought two-thirds of the island and donated it to the National Park Service. That land remains protected - no development or construction can take place within the National Park area.
Up until June 2005, Frett was the proprietor of House of Dolls, located in Meada's Plaza in Cruz Bay. The storeowner that Frett had problems with also rents two stores in the same location. Jerry and Esther Frett live on the east end of the island.
Virgin Islands police have not released any statements on the progress of the investigation and although the FBI has been on the case since early September, no arrests have been made. At a police press conference Sept. 13, Virgin Islands Police Commissioner Elton Lewis said "significant progress" had been made in the investigation.
At that time, Lewis said the investigation would be concluded "relatively soon" but gave no timetable or specifics. Lewis has met several times with the protest organizers who are requesting several permits to conduct the rally, march and community forums.
In a press release Lewis said he "expects permits will be issued for the march." Lewis said he is satisfied that the protesters "intend to operate within the parameters of the ! law." He added that the VIPD would closely "monitor the events" and "maintain good order."
The VIPD will be augmenting St. John police presence with officers from St. Thomas and St. Croix for the protest events.
The group is linking the planned events in St. John to local historical events of October 1, 1878 when indentured servants protested low wages and their inability to travel freely from one estate to another by staging an uprising later known as the Fireburn.
October 1, known as Contract Day, was the only day workers were allowed off their assigned plantations under the Provisional Labor Act of 1848 imposed by the colonial Danish government. The Provisional Labor Act of 1848 was enacted one year after African slaves forced the Danish government to declare them free following an uprising.
The march and rally begins at 10 a.m. from Cruz Bay port to the Winston Wells Ballpark followed by a rally. At 4 p.m. there will be a motorcade to Coral Bay where organizers hope to stage a bonfire in commemoration of the 1848 Fireburn. Organizers said police permits have been secured for all events except for the bonfire.
At an organizational meeting on St. Croix on Sunday, Sept. 25 which was attended by more then 70 people, some questioned why no permit had been issued for the bonfire. "It is our culture [to have a Fireburn]. We have been doing it and there has been no problem," Ras Lumumba, a St. Croix nature tours guide said.
Several St. Croix organizations including the St. Croix Farmers in Action traditionally host bonfires on St. Croix. Organizers said they would continue to appeal to the police department to issue a permit for the bonfire.
Gonzalo Rivera, one of the protest events' organizers, said the St. John events might have national coverage. He said letters have been sent to the NAACP, Rainbow Push Coalition and to Rev. Al Sharpton. "We have not received any confirmations but we are hoping that some of them will be there." Gonzalez said someone who has ties to the Final Call, a publication of the Nation of Islam, would report on the events.
This level of unrest is relatively new to St. John, whose nickname is "Love City." St. John residents say the problems on that island have been brewing for some time and relationships are strained between the island's black and white populations.
Some residents are experiencing economic hardships and have, or are in danger of losing land that has been passed down from generation to generation as a result of wealthy people coming into the islands and purchasing land and building expensive homes thus raising the amount of taxes owed on the property.
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