Sept. 30, 2007 — Amidst the sights and sounds of the modern age, a large group of people set off Saturday for a journey into the past, commemorating the 1892 Coal Workers Strike on St. Thomas with a little bit of music, laughter and historical anecdotes from culture bearers Felipe Ayala and Myron Jackson.
Called the Dollar Fo' Dollar Culture and History Tour, the event kicked off around 9:30 a.m. with an intimate gathering in Emancipation Garden. With some participants dressed in traditional costumes, other members of the group set the mood with folk music that helped to paint a picture of a Virgin Islands culture marked by both hardship and triumph.
"Dollar fo' dollar, or we pitch it in de harbor," they sang, keeping up with guitar beats provided by local folklorist Lois Hassell-Habtes. "Dollar fo' dollar, or find yo' coal in de harbor."
Portraying Queen Coziah — the charismatic leader of the 1892 strike — local bamboula dancer and instructor Mary Ann Christopher told the crowd what it was like to work in the territory more than 100 years ago, when women traveled up the steep wooden gangplanks of commercial steamships balancing 60-pound baskets of coal on their heads. St. Thomians were employed at a coaling station established in the late 19th century to refuel steamships heading from Europe to the Panama Canal.
In describing the details of the strike, Christopher spoke of Coziah fondly, calling her and the hard-working women of the time the backbone of V.I. society.
"She was willing to fight for what she believed in," Christopher said. "Those women, they worked very hard, toiled, for their money."
In between speaking to the group — which consisted of about 50 men, women and children — Christopher continued to play her part as the tour winded up Main Street, telling tourists and residents alike that she must be paid "dollar fo' dollar" for her work.
Giving some insight into the saying, Jackson explained that Coziah and other coal laborers had organized the strike because they had "had enough of being exploited by unscrupulous merchants" who had flooded the St. Thomas market with Mexican silver and other coins that had continued to depreciate in value. At the time of the strike, the silver was only worth about 65 cents on the market, he said, and workers had taken to the streets demanding their full wages, asking that they be matched "dollar fo' dollar" with Danish currency.
Jackson and Ayala led the group to various buildings and sites that had played a pivotal role in the strike and the V.I. economy. In addition to Market Square, much time was spent along Main Street, which Ayala described as the "lifeblood" of St. Thomas at the time.
Standing in front of the Little Switzerland building on the Waterfront, Ayala explained that the St. Thomas harbor had once extended as far back as Vendor's Plaza.
Goods passed through the Little Switzerland Building, Ayala added, which once served as a customs house. Continuing on to Main Street, he explained that warehouses also filled the south side of the town, while town houses spread were spread out on the northern side.
"Most of the protest took place on Main Street," Ayala explained.
Walking comfortably down the sidewalk, Ayala and Jackson also led the group down Post Office Alley and down the waterfront, then through the A.H. Riise and Hibiscus alleys. With his voice reverberating down the entrance to Palm Passage, Jackson explained that many of the downtown archways once housed things like butcher markets, hardware stores or fabric booths, where school children stopped to purchase ribbons and other knick-knacks.
At all stages of the tour, Hassell-Habtes and other members of the group kept up the music and singing, which steadily picked up the pace as the morning wore on. By the end of Main Street, the group — which had grown with the addition of a few passer-by — was singing at the top of their lungs, accompanied by the clapping and shouts of local merchants and tourists.
The tour, which is in its second year, ended at Market Square, where Jackson said steamship agents conceded to coal workers demands. The scene is described in an 1892 edition of the St. Thomas-based newspaper "The Bulletin" as follows:
"After making loud demonstrations at the three principal steamship agencies, the crowd moved to the Police Office and next to the Government Secretary's office. By this time, the mob had reached enormous proportions, as its attitude became menacing … and a detachment of armed soldiers was ordered out …"
The crowd calmed down, however, after "hearing that they would be paid dollar for dollar Danish money," the paper said, and was subsequently dispersed by a heavy rain shower.
"During the tumult, all stores were closed, and business suspended, and some doors were only thrown open when the soldiers retired to barracks and tranquility was restored," the paper said. "It is seldom in the history of St. Thomas that such a scene has been witnessed."
Sponsors of Saturday's event include the V.I. Cultural and Heritage Institute, the St. Thomas Historical Trust Education Committee, the Jane and Mike Sheen Collection, and the Joseph Gomez MASCILYN Bamboula Group.
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