[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 135 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1919-E1920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMANCIPATION OF ENSLAVED AFRICANS IN WHAT IS 
                         NOW THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. DONNA M. CHRISTIAN-GREEN

                           of virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 1997

  Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN. Mr. Speaker, last week I came to this floor to 
invite my colleagues and all Americans to join my constituents and I as 
we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved 
Africans in what is now the U.S. Virgin Islands, the district I proudly 
represent.
  Many of my colleagues have agreed to cosponsor the resolution I have 
submitted in recognition of this significant event in our history, and 
I thank them for their support.
  Mr. Speaker, today, October 1, we remember and celebrate the 
``firebun,'' which represents a continuation on the part of the people 
of the Virgin Islands, to achieve a yet greater degree of self-
determination.
  For while the events of July 3, 1848, represented the end of physical 
slavery, the firebun which occurred 30 years later, was a victory over 
economic slavery.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, 1 year after our emancipation in 1848, the 
Danish colonial government established the Provisional Labor Act to 
indenture workers for the continuation of the sugar cane industry on 
St. Croix.
  A bare subsistence wage scale was established, fees were set to 
discourage off-island travel, and workers were restricted from changing 
jobs, or moving to another estate except on October 1 of each year.

[[Page E1920]]

  That day, October 1 became known as Contract Day. After 30 years of 
existence under this oppressive act, St. Croix was once again ripe for 
an uprising. On Contract Day 1878, more than 400 workers, reacting to 
two incidents in Frederiksted town and adopting the cry ``Ironside or 
ourside'', began the revolt known as the firebun, which ultimately 
destroyed close to 70 estates, and in which about four whites and 200 
blacks reportedly lost their lives. The labor act was repealed 1 year 
later.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot close without recounting the critical role of 
women in the uprising. Mary Thomas, known as ``Queen Mary,'' Axellina 
Solomon, known as ``Queen Agnes,'' and Mathilda McBean, known as 
``Bottom Belly,'' emerged as the leaders of this revolt which would in 
effect continue for another 38 years until agricultural workers on St. 
Croix achieved their long-demanded improvements in wages and working 
conditions under the leadership of Judge D. Hamilton Jackson, whose 
birthday we will soon celebrate on November 1.
  These three courageous women would receive long prison sentences for 
their role in the firebun, which were commuted after 10 years by the 
King of Denmark. Many of the men who joined them were executed.
  Mr. Speaker, this day, October 1, is another proud day and milestone 
in the long history of my people in our quest for self-determination 
and freedom. It is especially so for the women of the Virgin Islands, 
for it represents the significant role we played in shaping and 
building a society dedicated to social and economic freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot be at home today to join in the celebrations in 
person, but I join them in spirit, and I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for 
granting me the time to make this statement in recognition of this day 
and the important moment in history which it commemorates.

                          ____________________