The Virgin Islands Department of Education Division of Virgin Islands Cultural Education (DVICE) will celebrate Virgin Islands heritage through an in-depth look at physical spaces during the March 2022 commemoration of Virgin Islands History Month.
The Division, in collaboration with other government and non-profit organizations, is encouraging students and all Virgin Islanders to “Step Into Heritage in Both Space and Mind” and will focus on the contributions of enslaved Africans in local architecture, the local raw materials used to construct many of the historic structures that still exist today, as well as spaces that were historically used for organizing and empowering Virgin Islanders.
“These islands are inextricably linked to the legacies of built heritage,” explained DVICE Director Stephanie Brown. “A large portion of the raw materials used to construct our historic structures came from the surrounding environment. We can learn about our islands’ history through architecture and heritage spaces that incorporate elements from our natural environments and bricks imported from Europe, illustrating the Virgin Islands intertwined African and European creolized heritage.”
Brown further pointed out that it is necessary to tell the full range of stories that make up Virgin Islands history.
“For a long time, the narratives of many estates and historical districts were told exclusively through one narrative, contributing to the erasure of the ingenuity of the Africans brought to these shores as enslaved people,” she said. “Many of the enslaved Africans possessed
exceptional craftsmanship skills and contributed to the architectural vernacular of the then- Danish West Indies, now known as the Virgin Islands of the United States.”
Brown continued, “Our ports, which now enable us to welcome visitors, tell the story of bodies defying systemic subjugation in commerce and trade, as well as our use of early labor organizing to combat inequitable pay and treatment. The sugar mills that tower over our landscapes have the ability to connect us to our forefathers who toiled the land nearby. The large baobab trees remind us of the power of traveling legacies, as the seeds of the trees were brought over in the hair of enslaved Africans, and those same trees provided spaces of empowerment for community action, particularly for leaders like D. Hamilton Jackson.”
Education Commissioner Racquel Berry-Benjamin notes the importance of understanding V.I. history in all its complexities.
“This year’s theme shows that our history is multifaceted and encompasses not only the many important historical figures and events that originated from or that impacted our islands,” she said. “Let us embrace the whole of our history, including the stories of our buildings, ports, and sugar mills, so that we may be enriched by our past and prepared for our future.”
V.I. History Month Activities 2022
"Step Into Heritage in Both Mind and Space"
Friday, March 11
Virtual
10:00 a.m.
Olassie Davis – Remarkable Trees – ( Near Bassin Police Station )
Tuesday, March 15
Virtual
10:00 a.m.
St. Croix Eastern Marine Park Virtual Presentation on Territorial Coral Reefs
Wednesday, March 16
10:00 a.m.
Virtual
Screening of the Fireburn Documentary and Question and Answer segment with Angela Golden Bryan
Friday, March 18
Virtual
Location: St. John
Kurt Marsh of St. Janco
10:00 a.m.
Fortsberg Historical Space, St. John
Location: St. Croix
Frandelle Gerard - CHANT
( Monkey Don’t Climb Tree - Remarkable Trees )
1:30 p.m.
Remarkable Trees Across the Street from the CHANT Building in Frederiksted
Tuesday, March 22
10:00 a.m.
Virtual
Tour of the Eastern Marine Park Visitor Center
Tuesday, March 29
Hybrid - Educational Complex
10:00 a.m.
Monica Marin of the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources – Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums Virtual Presentation on the Impact of Virgin Islands artists locally and globally.
Wednesday March 30
Virtual
10:00 a.m.
Celebrating the contributions of former Delegate to Congress Ron de Lugo
Student V.I. History Month Challenges
Explore and contribute to the preservation of our islands' ecology and built heritage. Explore
the V.I. National Register of Historic Spaces as well as contemporary murals and the Big trees
of Virgin Islands of the United States.
National Register of Historic Spaces. Navigate using the navigation coordinates
provided on the supplemental resource page. Coordinates can be entered in the Maps
App on your mobile device or in the Maps App on your personal or government-issued
computer.
Built Heritage. In collaboration with the Department of Planning and Natural
Resources' Division of Preservation, the Virgin Islands Architectural Center, and
the Division of Virgin Islands Cultural Education, the slides provided on the
supplemental resources sheet explain the architectural and cultural practices
that shaped and formed many of the Virgin Islands Historic structures
and district's architecture. Learn about the materials and ventricular system that
were developed in the Virgin Islands
Big Tree Challenge. #VIBigTreeChallenge. Students are encouraged to contact their
school librarian and request the book "Remarkable Big Trees in the United States Virgin
Islands" in order to obtain coordinates for the island's largest trees. Alternatively,
students can participate by tapping into community memory and locate and visit big
trees in their surrounding neighborhoods. Ex. Baobob, Genip, Mango, Silk Tree (Monkey
don’t climb tree), Flamboyant, Calabash, Tambarind, Sanbox Tree.
How to Submit. Take a Photo and Post to Your Facebook or Instagram using Hashtag
#VirginIslandsHistoryMonth #VIBuiltHeritage and/or #VIBigTreeChallenge.
Alternatively, you can email your submissions @stephanie.cbrown@vide.vi for a chance
to win a prize.
Take part in narrating Virgin Islands Spaces. Add any family or personal experience of
the space to the post or email submission. Ex. Tell us about any new knowledge or past
experiences you and your family have had in relation to the historical space.
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