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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Education Receives “Today In Virgin Islands History” Scripts for Distribution to School Libraries

What is your favorite moment in Virgin Islands history? Like many others, Austin Advertising’s Senior Account Manager Germaine Griffith holds special July 3, 1848 – Emancipation Day, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in the Virgin Islands by Danish Governor Peter von Sholten. Now one of the territory’s most celebrated holidays, the significance of Emancipation Day is known by young and old alike, but according to Griffith, there are also countless other moments, some unmentioned or long forgotten, that have also played an integral role in shaping the territory’s future.
The V.I.’s junior high and high school students will soon get a chance to explore some of those forgotten moments, which have been researched and documented by Griffith for Austin Advertising’s “Today in V.I. History” project, then compiled and donated to the Department of Education by the agency for use in the public schools’ libraries.
The project recently culminated in a series of radio programs — paid for by the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ V.I. State Historic Preservation Office with funding from the U.S. Interior Department’s National Park Service – that aired on WSTA for a period of six months. The scripts from the radio program were recently presented to Education Commissioner Dr. LaVerne Terry during a small, but touching, ceremony held at the Department’s main complex on St. Thomas.
Attending the ceremony with Griffith were: Acting V.I. State Historical Preservation Director Sean L. Krigger and VIDE’s Division of Cultural Education Program Manager Manazo Lamakalo, along with Sen. Myron Jackson and Sen. Tregenza Roach, whose love of Virgin Islands history have not only been widely publicized over the years, but felt throughout the community as they have continued to spearhead everything from restoration projects to writing novels that capture the spirit and beauty of the territory’s people and surroundings.
Speaking during the ceremony about the research she conducted for the project, Griffith added that Virgin Islanders’ contributions are not only important at home, but have also been quite significant living abroad in the United States or other corners of the world.
“We’ve found that Virgin Islanders have done some amazing things,” Griffith said. “So much so that in almost every profession, you can find a Virgin Islander that has really excelled and contributed to the development of their area or field.”
The presentation was especially poignant for Terry, who spoke about her personal experiences learning about the history of the Virgin Islands after moving to the territory from the mainland.
“When I came, there was a great deal of questions and concerns, so I decided that I had to make myself a student of Virgin Islands history,” she said to the group. “And so I read, and read and continued to read and learn about the community that accepted me to be here. So to me, this gives an added opportunity because I know how important it is. It is important to me as someone who wasn’t from here, so it has to be just as important to our students that they learn their deep roots, their history and their past because from these, they really learn their future.”
Cultural Education’s Lamakalo also spoke about the importance of the donation, which will be distributed by his office to the territory’s junior high and high schools. Learning their own history, Lamakalo said, would give the territory’s students a chance to expand their horizons and help the community’s more significant moments and traditions to survive for many years to come.

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