ST. CROIX — Residents from St. Croix will be celebrating Emancipation Day with a march to Bernard Cuffy’s property in Clairmont, following Mr. Cuffy’s victory in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands today.
Judge Jomo Meade handed down an important and landmark victory to Mr. Cuffy relative to the use of the right of way to his property, which will cement moving forward how land disputes relative to right of way (R.O.W.) are handled in the Virgin Islands for subdivision property owners.
The march will start with a gathering at the La Reine Shopping Center’s parking lot at 8:30 a.m. From there, participants will head to Mr. Cuffy’s Clairmont property for a celebratory and solidarity march, which is to start at 9:00 a.m.
Significantly, the march falls on Emancipation Day, which commemorates Danish Governor Peter von Scholten’s 1848 proclamation that “all unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today emancipated,” which followed a slave rebellion led by John Gottlieb (General Buddhoe) in Frederiksted, St. Croix.
Event organizer, a group called Mobilize St. Croix, worked with Mr. Cuffy for the march, which was planned before today’s court outcome. Khnuma Simmonds, a member of the group congratulated Mr. Cuffy on the victory and said that today’s result was also a significant win for the people of the territory.
“Mr. Cuffy’s win in court is a victory for the people of the Virgin Islands as this case was not merely about land — it was about power, control, privilege, history, culture and erase-ism,” she said. “It was also about the power of knowledge and knowing one’s rights — the right to property, access and equity.”
She added, “I applaud Mr. Cuffy for his courage and the community for the outpouring of support. This case will “clear deh road” for other property owners as well as future social justice movements in the Virgin Islands.”
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