Postcard Campaign Brings New Dimension to History Tour Tradition

The November commemorations of historical events in the Danish West Indies are lending a different perspective to the Thanksgiving holiday week. About 60 participants joined a walking tour of Charlotte Amalie and Savan for the annual observance of the St. Thomas Coal Carriers’ Strike.

Celebrations of the 1892 Dollar fo’ Dollar work stoppage took place on Nov. 23 — dubbed Virgin Islands Freedom Fighter’s Day. It’s a designation associated with a second historic event — the Fortsberg Slave Uprising on the island of St. John. The 40th-anniversary Fortsberg Tour is set to take place on the Friday after Thanksgiving; participants will gather on Cruz Bay Beach before boarding safaris to view the places where the uprising spread across St. John on Nov. 23, 1733.

Organizers of the Coal Carriers’ Commemoration say this year’s tour marked the 19th observance of a strike that brought seaborne commerce of coal to a halt on Sept 12, 1892. Dollar fo’ Dollar co-founders Jahweh David and DaraMonifah Cooper are among those who have worked throughout the years to make local history a vibrant and engaging experience. “The coal industry has a long history in the Virgin Islands; it goes back to slavery days and went up to the 1930s,” said Ayesha Morris, member of the Dollar fo’ Dollar Culture and History Committee, Inc. “The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was one of the first to start its operation on St. Thomas in the 1840s.”