Fireburn

Did you know that the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands banned slavery before the mainland United States? This is because the island was once colonized and governed by the country of Denmark.

During the 1700s, many countries around the world began to abolish the slave trade act and the children of slaves became free. In St. Croix, the transatlantic slave trade might have ended, but slavery on the island was still legal. It was in 1847 that they declared slavery would be abolished and that they were now able to be free laborers.

For most, this made conditions worse as the pay was extremely low and it was barely enough to buy food, and not enough time to grow enough on their own as their routine remained the same. Also, many people had to live on the same land they worked still but now it was technically their small piece of land. With little change occurring even after the legal abolishment of slavery, the enslaved population of the island had enough.

On October 1, 1878, the Fireburn riots took place as an act of rebellion against slave labor and the conditions of life for the majority of people. The riots were said to be organized and led by four women: Mary Thomas, Axeline Elizabeth Salomon, Mathilda McBean, and Susanna Abrahamson.

The results of the historic event in St. Croix were the loss lives of many slaves killed by the Danish military, those responsible put to trial, punishment by death, and the four women sent to a prison in Denmark. After this rebellion, the pay wages rose, however, conditions and ideologies took longer to see change.

In honor of Women’s History Month and US Virgin Islands History Month, we remember the brave souls that risked their lives for freedom. Had it not been for these influential Queens of St. Croix, the story may have enfolded differently. As a tribute to their courage, there stands a statue of Queen Mary Thomas in Denmark to showcase the story of the Fireburn riot and the resilience of the Crucian community.

Our freedom is our superpower, without it we are simply living under someone else’s terms. To live life on our own terms, we must have complete autonomy over our mind, body and soul.

Slavery was wrong. We can’t help but wonder, why did it take so long to overthrow and realize it was bad? We let this horrible act happen again and again without question, doing so without thinking about the real consequences of our actions.

I find it all ironic and disheartening to see that there was such a thought to treat each other in such a terrible way. When did we ever think this was acceptable and then somehow change our mind to then see our true blood on our hands?

Today there are still people in this world that are experiencing slavery and it is unbelievable to know this is still taking place. We can talk about freedom and understand that being free and wild does not mean that we need to forget all of the evolution and growth to act in ways that are hurtful towards others.

In a time of rising consciousness, we need to do better and open our heart and mind to a world without control and hate. No matter what is happening now, remember that people once thought slavery was okay. If there is something that takes away others freedom and is done with negative intentions, it is not okay.

As a way to celebrate our girlhood, we are hosting a special virtual event called Oh, how I love being a girlie, she/her, they/them. We will be meeting on Saturday March 29th at 11am EST on Google Meets. Please use this link to RSVP and you will receive the link once payment is received.

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