The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has appointed a new jurisdictional humanities council to partner with it in supporting humanities organizations and programs throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands Inc. (CFVI), National Endowment for the Humanities interim partner since 2020, has been designated as NEH’s newest permanent humanities council. CFVI will join the network of 56 state, jurisdictional and interim humanities council affiliates that receive general operating support funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and work with the agency to bring humanities programs, events and resources to communities across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. jurisdictions.
“We are delighted to welcome the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands as the National Endowment for the Humanities’ official partner in bringing humanities programs and experiences to Virgin Islands communities,” said NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo).
“CFVI brings extensive partnerships and a network of connections across the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization has an impressive track record of fundraising and grantmaking in support of local education, cultural programs and initiatives promoting understanding of Virgin Islands history and heritage. We look forward to working with CFVI in this new capacity to expand access to lifelong learning opportunities, scholarly pursuits, and educational resources,” she said.
As the National Endowment for the Humanities interim partner in the USVI since 2020, CFVI has already been involved in several NEH-supported initiatives and provided subawards to support a wide variety of humanities programming across the islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.
CFVI grants have supported the creation of classroom activities, online resources and the distribution of books and other materials to help teach Virgin Islands history in K–12 classrooms; funded a documentary about the ‘Fireburn,’ the 1878 St. Croix labor revolt by formerly enslaved workers; enabled scholarly work to identify and map sites of 19th-century windmills that were used for milling sugar cane; and supported public programs relating to the St. Thomas Synagogue, the oldest synagogue building in continuous use.
CFVI also promotes reading and literacy through its support of the Virgin Islands Book Festival. In 2022, it was invited by the Library of Congress to host the Library of Congress Center for the Book for the U.S. Virgin Islands and collaborate with the library on local literacy programs and literary heritage projects.
Under NEH’s “United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture initiative,” CFVI is supporting a partnership between American Ancestors and the Caribbean Genealogy Library to create a history curriculum that uses genealogy research and family histories to help students make personal connections to Virgin Islands history.
The project is part of the 10 Million Names initiative to identify the estimated ten million individuals of African descent who were enslaved in the area that became the United States that became the United States.
“It is a tremendous honor for the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) to have been designated to serve as the Humanities Council for the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said CFVI President Dee Baecher-Brown.
“CFVI is proud to deepen our commitment to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This recognition aligns seamlessly with our mission to enhance the quality of life for Virgin Islanders by supporting the humanities, education, and community development. We are excited to leverage this partnership to further empower our local organizations and ensure that the unique stories and traditions of our islands are celebrated and shared for generations to come.”
By congressional mandate, the National Endowment for the Humanities distributes approximately 40 percent of the agency’s annual appropriated program funds as General Operating Support Grants to NEH’s state and jurisdictional humanities councils and interim partners to support public humanities programming in the 56 states and jurisdictions.
These local affiliates, all independent nonprofit organizations governed by volunteer boards of directors and staffed by humanities professionals, ensure access to humanities resources and advance public participation in the humanities through local grantmaking, developing and implementing council-led public humanities programs, and through partnerships with other local, state and national organizations.
