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The Avis
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014
The Avis
Publisher/Editor/Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rena Brodhurst Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephanie Hanlon Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maria E. Morales Ad Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linda Clarke Printed and published daily except holidays by Brodhurst Printery, Inc., 36A/B La Grande Princesse, PO Box 750, Christiansted, U.S.V.I., 00820 Telephone (340) 718-2300; Fax (340) 718-5511 16 Norre Gade, Charlotte Amalie Telephone (340) 774-7576; Fax (340) 774-8039 Newsroom email: avisnewstips@gmail.com Second-class Postage paid at Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I. Publication No. 475860 Postmaster: Send Form 3579 (Notice of Address Change) to Publisher, PO Box 750, Christiansted, V.I., 00821 Member: The Associated Press American Newspaper Publishers Association
EDITORIAL:
Sugarcane legacy The sugarcane industry once dominated St. Croix. Stalks of sugarcane spread from estate to estate, Crucians labored everyday in the sugarcane fields, transporting it or working at a mill. Our free labor supported Denmark for more than 200 years. Even when slavery ended we didn’t earn a fair wage. And as wages increased, the sugarcane industry declined. As less physical jobs, paying more, became more prominent, such as through government and the oil and aluminum industries on the South Shore, the sugarcane industry began to disappear. There are still at least two small sugarcane farmers on St. Croix, who work hard to support their families through juicing cane. And there are many people who grow patches in their yards for personal use or to sell at the fair. But considering how ingrained sugarcane was in our society for so many years, it is surprising how little of it we see today. Since Hovensa closed, we’ve had a lot of talk about returning to our agricultural roots. And we’ve written several editorials here detailing the need for growth in our agricultural industry in order to support the local population with fresh produce and reduce our reliance on imports. But returning to our agricultural roots and fostering large-scale agribusiness is not feasible today, for several reasons. First, we don’t have the land any more, as detailed by Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen in our Black History Month Supplement. Too much land on St. Croix is privately owned or developed and there isn’t even half the acreage available to bring us back to what we were doing at the height of the sugarcane industry. Second, slavery is now illegal and shipping in cheap labor from poorer regions would likely not go over very well here. Store bought sugar remains affordable in the stores because big businesses get tax breaks in areas where cheap labor is plentiful. Our citizens have become accustomed to better pay and working conditions, and the U.S. welfare system is much more generous, unfortunately — providing housing, health insurance, food and child care — compared to a position working on a farm. For this Black History Month Supplement, we wanted to showcase the sugarcane industry, how it was once a thriving business on St. Croix, dependent on slave labor, and how it evolved and eventually disappeared altogether. It’s an interesting read, and serves as a reminder of what our ancestors did for so many generations before they fought for their freedom and right to choose their own destiny. Fifty years ago, the Virgin Islands chose to diversify the economy and explore other means of supporting and providing opportunities for our people. We’ve had setbacks, major ones and now we are at a crossroads. Again we must decide how we will diversify and bounce back to more prosperous times. But we must decide if we want to move forward or chase the past. And we must ask ourselves, realistically, where are we headed and what direction will most likely bring us success and prosperity.
Letter of the Editor
Why study black history? Dear Editor, I have a couple of speaking engagements for this Black History Month. Someone might ask, “Why speak about or study black history?” For one thing, those of us who are descendants for what is termed as Negroid, the history of black people didn’t start from the importation of enslaved Africans to the western hemisphere, nor did the history of man begin with the cartoon show of Fred Flintstone. Scientists have been telling us for some years now that human life began in Africa. But there are other reasons why we all should study black history. Many of the great contributions that black people made to the world have been misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented over the years. For example, ancient Rome was still a village when ancient Egypt was flourishing, for thousands of years. Rome begins to emerge as a large civilization during the time when Egypt began to
decline. Before the rise of modern Europe, ancient Egypt had existed thousands of years before. It was after 1,000 years of Egypt’s glory, that the Franks, Vandals and Goths began forming an alliance in what we know today as Europe. Much later on in the 11th century A.D., the warlike Franks banded together to form what is known as France toady. The Greeks learned in the schools of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt had developed a religious system called Mysteries, whereby the first system of salvation was generated. According to Dr. George G. M. James’ book, entitled, “Stolen Legacy,” “After nearly 5,000 years of prohibition against the Greeks, they were permitted to enter Egypt for the purpose of their education.” The Greeks learned from the ancient Egyptian priests, the arts, sciences and philosophies of life from the schools of Egypt. James explained that through the Persian invasion and then later on
through the invasion of Alexander the Great, the Greeks learned all they could learn of the culture and history of ancient Egyptians. We should know in world history that Alexander the Great ravaged the royal temples and libraries of ancient Egypt. The books were stolen from Egypt and Aristotle converted the books into his school, and the library at Alexandria into a research center. The large number of books ascribed to Aristotle, are the property of the ancient Egyptians. James further stated, “The history of Aristotle’s life has done him far more harm than good, since it carefully avoids any statement relating to his visit to Egypt, either on his own account or in company with Alexander the Great, when he invaded Egypt.” In 322 B.C., Aristotle died, but before his death, with the help of Alexander the Great, he secured a
LETTER, PAGE 9
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014
The Avis
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LETTER: FROM PAGE 8
Boycott Arizona Boycott Arizona. Somebody design the Tshirts. Somebody ready the bumper stickers. Boycott Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer has not said at this writing whether she will veto a bill passed by the state legislature that would allow businesses to refuse service to gay people on religious grounds. Maybe she'll do the right thing. Maybe we should be ready in case she does not. After all, this is the state that resisted the Martin Luther King holiday for six years. The one that outlawed ethnic studies classes. The one where state lawmakers tried to redefine U.S. citizenship to snub so-called "anchor babies." The one where brown people are required to show their papers. Maybe it's time the rest of us said, "Enough." Maybe we should boycott Arizona. Or, we could boycott Ohio, Mississippi, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee, Oklahoma or Kansas where similar measures are or have been under consideration. Granted, such a law is unlikely to survive its first court challenge. Granted, too, these laws amount to little more than temper tantrums by last-ditch bigots who don't realize history has passed them by as a Ferrari does a traffic cone. But perhaps there is something to be said for inflicting economic pain as a way of saying, "Cut it out." Perhaps the right wing's proud embrace of ignorance and intolerance has grown so toxic
Leonard Pitts they demand to be confronted. Perhaps the forces of bigotry have held the floor long enough and it's time those of us who value comity, concord and tolerance make our voices heard. Boycott Arizona. Don't be fooled by pious babblespeak that claims these laws only protect the rights of religious people who object to homosexuality. No one seeks to compel any preacher to perform a same-sex marriage if doing so violates his conscience. But if that pastor works for a bakery during the week, it is none of his business whether the wedding cake he bakes is for John and Jan or John and Joe. Remember in 2007 when Muslim cabdrivers in Minneapolis-St. Paul argued for the right to refuse to carry passengers with alcohol because their faith frowns on booze? Then as now, the answer was simple: This is America. Your right to follow religious conscience ends at someone else's right to receive public service in public places. Do your darn job. Or quit and give it to somebody who will. Boycott Arizona. Yeah, the Canyon is Grand,
but once you've see one hole in the ground, you've seen them all. Boycott Arizona. The sun shines in California, too. Boycott Arizona. Walt Disney World is offering 30 percent off on rooms at select Disney resorts. Boycott Arizona. Sadly, this means you would also have to boycott Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria, Barrio Cafe and other conscientious Arizona businesses that have come out against this spiteful law. Unfortunately for them, they are stuck, geographically speaking, in a state of intolerance. Simple human decency demands we no longer countenance intolerance in silence. Boycott Arizona. And because people who oppose gay rights go absolutely bughouse when anyone suggests a parallel between this fight and the Civil Rights Movement, let us close by recalling something Martin Luther King once said. Segregation, he told marchers in Montgomery, Ala., was on its deathbed and the only remaining question was "how costly the segregationists ... will make the funeral." What was true of segregation then is true of homophobia now. And apparently homophobes are willing to make its funeral quite costly, indeed. Fine, then. Let's have at it. Haven't you had enough of conservatives trying to repeal the 20th century? Who's up for this? Boycott Arizona.
large quantity of scientific books from the Royal Libraries and Temples of Egypt. Thus, the science and technology that create the modern world today bears the knowledge of black people and not of the Greeks as they would have us to believe. In history, we learned how Columbus explored the western hemisphere. But before Columbus encountered the West, the African presence was already in ancient America. In fact, there were Africans, not as slaves, that accompanied Columbus on his voyage to the so called, New World. According to “Black Fact 365,” “The Olmec’s were ancient Africans who travelled to the Americas over one thousand years before Columbus.” Nevertheless, let us bring black history closer to Virgin Islands history. The first free black man to arrive in Boriquen, known today as Puerto Rico, was Juan Garrido, in 1509. According to historians, he was the son of an African King in West Africa. Juan Garrido, sometimes known as “El Negro Conquistador,” joined Juan Pone de Leon to explore Puerto Rico. Garrido, a high ranking official in Pone de Leon’s military, also landed on St. Croix (Ay-Ay) in search for “Island Caribs” during the 1500’s. However, Juan Garrido was not the first African to set foot in the West Indies. Africans traded with the Amerindian of the West Indies, South and Central America as well as North America for hundreds of years before the first European entered the west. When I attended my daughter’s graduation at Florida A&M University in 2008, I visited the campus’ Black Museum. At one of the exhibits, there were artifacts of the African presence in North America, dating to over 2,000 years ago. In the mid-1990s, I attended a scientific conference in Honduras. As part of the scientific meetings, we visited one of the historic sites of the country. Here again, the tour guides pointed out to us, the presence of Africans
for thousands of years in this region of the world. The pyramids he showed us of the historic site were influenced by African architecture that once traded with Native Americans in this region. In 1975, a team of professionals from the Smithsonian Institution reported of the two findings of Negroid male skeletons in a grave site near Hull Bay Beach on the northwestern side of St. Thomas. According to the late Professor Ivan Van Sertima, in his book entitled, “They Came Before Columbus” in reference to the grave site on St. Thomas, “This grave had been used and abandoned by the Caribs long before the coming of Columbus. Soil from the earth layers in which the skeletons were found was dated to1250 A.D.” It was reported also of this finding in Hull Bay that around the wrist of one of the skeletons was “a clay vessel of pre-Columbian Indian design” as well as studies were done on the decayed teeth which showed “dental mutilation characteristic of early African cultures.” From St. Thomas to St. John, we step into black history again. In 1971, I was still in grammar school when Michael Cudjoe, a young ambassador from Ghana, accompanied a fifth grade class on a hike to Reef Bay Valley on St. John to examine the petroglyphs. Cudjoe recognized the carvings on the rocks below Reef Bay Falls because he had seen carvings like that back home in Ghana. According to Cudjoe, the cravings are Ashanti symbols, one meaning ACCEPT GOD. The theory is the petroglyphs are the works of African artists. Bruno Adriani, an Amerindian art historian and author of, “PreColumbian Sculpture-Olmec To Huastec,” also supported Cudjoe’s claim that the petroglyphs are of African design and not of Indians. Ivan Van Sertima, professor in linguistics and anthropology, also identified some of the craving as African. Why not study black history? Olasee Davis St. Croix
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