[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 39 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 39

   Recognizing and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Virgin 
   Islands of the United States becoming a part of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2017

 Ms. Plaskett submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Government Reform, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Virgin 
   Islands of the United States becoming a part of the United States.

Whereas, on March 31, 2017, the Virgin Islands of the United States will 
        commemorate 100 years of being a part of the United States;
Whereas the Virgin Islands of the United States will use this anniversary, in 
        part, to commemorate its history, culture, and diversity;
Whereas one of the earliest historical accounts of the Virgin Islands of the 
        United States was in 1493, when Carib inhabitants on St. Croix engaged 
        Christopher Columbus on his second voyage, in what is considered the 
        first insurgence against European colonization in the New World;
Whereas the three largest islands of the Virgin Islands of the United States 
        were ruled by at least six sovereigns over the past 500 years;
Whereas Denmark began its acquisition of the islands that were to become known 
        as the Danish West Indies with the founding of its first permanent 
        colony on the island of St. Thomas in 1665, to be followed by the island 
        of St. John in 1717, and the island of St. Croix in 1733;
Whereas, during a 250-year span of history, Denmark colonized those three 
        islands as a part of the sugar trade, which included participation in 
        the transatlantic slave trade and a plantation-based system that 
        subjugated slaves;
Whereas significant hardships were endured by enslaved Africans during the 
        period of European colonial rule, which precipitated the 1733 revolution 
        on St. John, the 1848 insurrection and emancipation declaration signed 
        by Danish Governor Peter von Scholten, the 1878 rebellion on St. Croix 
        known as the ``Fireburn'', and the 1892 coal workers' strike on St. 
        Thomas;
Whereas, by the spirit of resistance, enslaved African heroes like General 
        Buddhoe, Anna Hegaard, the Queens Mary, Agnes, Matilda, ``Bottom 
        Belly'', and Coziah, and other leaders were able to liberate themselves 
        and emancipate the African people;
Whereas an islandwide slave insurrection on St. Croix in July of 1848 resulted 
        in the official abolition of slavery in the Danish West Indies;
Whereas the decline of the sugar industry in the region led Denmark to seek a 
        buyer for the Danish West Indies;
Whereas the United States, seeking a strategic base to protect its assets in the 
        Caribbean, including the newly built Panama Canal, purchased the Danish 
        West Indies in 1917 through the Convention Between the United States and 
        Denmark for Cession of the Danish West Indies, which confirmed that the 
        civil rights and political status of the inhabitants of the islands 
        would be determined by Congress;
Whereas the transfer of the Danish West Indies to the United States took place 
        on March 31, 1917, with ceremonies on St. Thomas and St. Croix and is 
        commemorated annually in the Virgin Islands of the United States as 
        ``Transfer Day'';
Whereas, after the transfer, the Virgin Islands of the United States was 
        administered by the Navy, which led to an improved system of social 
        services, higher paying jobs associated with military buildup, and, 
        later, the development of the economy through increased agricultural 
        production;
Whereas, between 1924 and 1927, several proposed bills for constitutional reform 
        were discussed by congressional committees on insular affairs, though 
        action did not manifest until the enactment of the Organic Act of the 
        Virgin Islands in 1936 and the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands 
        in 1954;
Whereas the Organic Act of the Virgin Islands passed as a result of efforts by 
        David Hamilton Jackson and Rothschild Francis, along with others, 
        including Casper Holstein and Ashley Totten, allowing for increased 
        self-government for the Virgin Islands of the United States;
Whereas the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands promoted the growing 
        political consciousness of Virgin Islanders, achieved greater economy 
        and efficiency of government, and provided the legal basis for the 
        political and administrative reorganization of the Virgin Islands of the 
        United States;
Whereas this was furthered strengthened by the 1965 Constitutional Convention 
        Report, which recommended an elective Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 
        the continuation of existing representation, a Resident Commissioner or 
        Delegate to the House of Representatives, and the right of Virgin 
        Islanders to vote in national elections for the President and Vice 
        President of the United States;
Whereas the mission for self-determination and constitutional reform continues 
        today;
Whereas the Virgin Islands of the United States common history with the United 
        States dates back to Alexander Hamilton, who was raised on the island of 
        St. Croix and later became one of the leaders of the American Revolution 
        and the first Secretary of the Treasury;
Whereas the people of the Virgin Islands of the United States have made 
        significant contributions to the United States, including--

    (1) William Leidesdorff of St. Croix, a sea captain, merchant, trader, 
landowner, civic leader, early California pioneer, and the first Black 
millionaire in the United States;

    (2) Camille Pissaro, a French impressionist painter who was born on St. 
Thomas;

    (3) Edward Wilmot Blyden, an intellectual, educator, linguist, 
clergyman, author, statesman, college president, and father of Pan-
Africanism;

    (4) Hubert H. Harrison, a writer, teacher, orator, editor, labor 
leader, and ``Renaissance Man'';

    (5) Morris Simmonds, a German physician and noted pathologist, after 
whom a disease of the pituitary gland known as ``Simmonds Disease'' is 
named;

    (6) Arthur A. Schomburg, a bibliophile, historian, curator, and 
activist who raised awareness of the great contributions that African Latin 
Americans and African Americans have made to society, and whose collection 
of literature and art is now part of the Schomburg Center for Research in 
Black Culture at the New York Public Library in Harlem;

    (7) Alton A. Adams, a musician and the first Black bandmaster of the 
Navy;

    (8) Sosthenes Behn, a soldier, industrialist, business innovator, and 
founder of the International Telephone and Telegraph Company;

    (9) Casper Holstein, a humanitarian and philanthropist who advocated 
for improving the standard of living for Virgin Islanders and for a greater 
degree of island self-government;

    (10) Nella Larsen, one of the most influential novelists of the Harlem 
Renaissance;

    (11) Ashley L. Totten, an organizer and officer of the Brotherhood of 
Sleeping Car Porters and leader of the American Virgin Islands Civic and 
Industrial Association of New York;

    (12) Alonzo G. Moron, the President of Hampton University from 1949 to 
1959;

    (13) Valmy Thomas, a professional baseball player and the first Virgin 
Islands of the United States native to play in Major League Baseball;

    (14) Claude A. ``Bennie'' Benjamin, a musician, composer, and 
entertainer who composed musical themes for several Walt Disney pictures;

    (15) J. Raymond Jones, a politician, power broker, and Tammany Hall 
chief;

    (16) Roy Innis, an activist, politician, and National Chairman of the 
Congress of Racial Equality from 1968 to 2017;

    (17) the Honorable Melvin H. Evans, the first elected Governor of the 
Virgin Islands of the United States and Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago;

    (18) the Honorable Terence A. Todman, a career Ambassador who served 
the United States across the globe for almost 50 years, who was decorated 
by the Governments of Denmark, Spain, Argentina, and Chad, and who received 
the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the National Public Service 
Award, the Director General's Cup, and the Department of State's Superior 
Service Honor Award and Distinguished Service Award;

    (19) the Honorable Ron de Lugo, the first Delegate to Congress from the 
Virgin Islands of the United States and who spent 40 years in public 
service, locally and nationally, fought to increase the rights and 
privileges for territorial delegates, worked for the full political status 
of the Virgin Islands of the United States, and served as the chairman of 
the Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs; and

    (20) the Honorable Donna Christian-Christensen, a Delegate to Congress 
from the Virgin Islands of the United States and the first female physician 
to serve in Congress;

Whereas Virgin Islanders such as Calvin Pickering, Elrod Hendricks, Emile 
        Griffith, Horace Clarke, Joe Christopher, Julian Jackson, Kelsey 
        Grammer, Kevin Krigger, Midre Cummings, Raja Bell, Saba Johnson, Tim 
        Duncan, Ullmont L. James, Sr., Victor Lebron, and others have made 
        substantial contributions to government, sports, and the arts in the 
        United States;
Whereas Denmark and the United States are united by shared values and a strong 
        commitment to freedom, democracy, human rights, racial justice, economic 
        self-sufficiency, prosperity, and free market opportunities and should 
        continue to provide for economic and cultural exchanges, trade and 
        investment, and people-to-people contacts;
Whereas the Governments of Denmark and the Virgin Islands of the United States 
        have discussed establishing a memorandum of understanding for sharing 
        and preserving archival records and historic and prehistoric artifacts;
Whereas there has been ongoing collaboration between schools in the Virgin 
        Islands of the United States and Denmark, allowing teachers and students 
        to share, learn, and strengthen intercultural understandings of a shared 
        history through the creation of new teaching materials and a common goal 
        to prepare students for global citizenship;
Whereas more collaboration should occur, transcending the classroom to educate 
        all Virgin Islanders, United States citizens, and Danes, beyond the 
        centennial commemoration in 2017 because education is critical to 
        improving relations, understanding, and the healing process;
Whereas the material and cultural heritage that was engendered during Danish 
        rule, such as the music of Quelbe, the dance of Quadrille, and the 
        preserved architecture, has manifested under United States rule and has 
        become a dynamic addition to the story of the United States;
Whereas the people of the Virgin Islands of the United States, like the people 
        of the United States, have a diverse historical, cultural, and genetic 
        inheritance linking them to Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe;
Whereas Virgin Islanders and Danish Americans have contributed greatly to the 
        history and development of the United States, and the 100th anniversary 
        of their shared legacy should be properly recognized;
Whereas Virgin Islanders have served the United States in every war and conflict 
        since the Revolutionary War and have contributed to every facet of life 
        in the United States; and
Whereas 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Islands of the United 
        States becoming a part of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes and commemorates the 100th anniversary of 
        the Virgin Islands of the United States becoming a part of the 
        United States;
            (2) appreciates the many years of strong United States-
        Danish diplomatic relations;
            (3) acknowledges the creation of the Virgin Islands of the 
        United States Centennial Commission, established under Public 
        Law 114-224, to lead the Federal effort to commemorate this 
        centennial; and
            (4) encourages the Archivist of the United States to 
        cooperate with the Governments of Denmark and the Virgin 
        Islands of the United States to digitize the historical records 
        of the Virgin Islands of the United States in the Federal 
        archives, and make them directly accessible to the people of 
        the Virgin Islands of the United States in secure research 
        facilities located on all three major islands of the Virgin 
        Islands of the United States.
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