Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most important moments in the annals of history and that of the human struggle for equality in itself. Over 200,000 people were involved in the civil rights non-violent march on Washington D.C. in August, 1963 led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr and a group of other civil rights, labour and religious leaders at the time. Photo: BBC

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Joachim Prinz pictured, 1963. Photo: CJH Digital Collections

President John F. Kennedy meets with march leaders. Left to Right Willard Wirtz, Martin Luther King, Jr., Eugene Carson Blake, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Walter Reuther. Others not in order: A. Philip Randolph, John Lewis, Whitney Young, Mathew Ahmann, Joachin Prinz, Roy Wilkins, Floyd McKissick. Photo: wiki.umiacs.umd.edu

Social activist and commentator Cromwell Smith said he could see how the Civil Rights Movement in America played a major role in the development of the BVI. Photo: VINO/File

Third District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser, RA said there was no question of the importance of the march and the activities of Dr King. Photo: VINO/File

According to Natalio Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru, [locals] have struggled to take up economic opportunities that we believe are traditionally for white people essentially. Photo: VINO/File

Local entrepreneur and craft maker, Kishmet Daniel felt more men like Martin Luther King were needed as politicians in the BVI. Photo: VINO/File

Commentator Alred Frett said Dr King's dream was still alive today but is yet to be fully realized. Photo: VINO/File

Dr The Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering at the commemoration of the march on August 28, 2013. Photo: PBS

Dr King at the time felt that what he termed, ‘the Negro Protest’ was about to be transformed into a ‘Negro Revolution’ and feared that the United States had reached an ‘explosion point’.

Protestors marched for racial equality and jobs and the march was dubbed the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’ even though African Americans were at the time already freed from slavery. At the end of the march, Dr King delivered a historic address that many recall as the ‘I have a dream’ speech. Today, that march is widely credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act, 1964 and Voting Rights Act, 1965.

Though conditions are vastly different for people of today, many in the Virgin Islands (VI) and around the world are still affected by issues that are similar to those that affected those protestors and a nexus can be drawn to some extent, even if these issues are now of a more subtle nature.

This view was shared by commentator and social activist, Cromwell Smith aka Edju En Ka.

“I can see how the Civil Rights Movement in America played a major role in the development of the BVI,” Smith said in an interview with Virgin Islands News Online. He remarked that this was especially the case with regard to issues of education.

He felt that economic parallels could be drawn with the US and VI in that the local economy is in large measure controlled by Europeans and North Americans. “Their businesses are the businesses that bring the most money into the Territory and in a lot of cases, they also cooperate with each other, practice cooperative economics with each other for their own success,” he said.

Trace similarities could be seen in the segregation era practices of the Jim Crow South in the US though this was largely based on blatant racist practices where blacks were excluded not only from economic opportunities, but educational ones as well with whites-only jobs and business establishments and mass segregation in schools. What he feels is markedly different today, is the lack of violence involved in the making of discriminatory decisions, “[racism] is much more difficult to detect but it still exists,” he asserted.

Smith felt though, that the issue of verbal violence remained pertinent, “what is sad about that is that nationals and non-nationals of like culture seem to be more at odds with each other and the other groups that share similar cultures, don’t seem to be at odds with each other.”

Today, many locals have translated these sentiments into an expressed feeling of exclusion from jobs that it are often felt are undeservedly given to other Caribbean nationals especially as well as other non-nationals such as Europeans, North Americans, and Filipinos in particular to the detriment of locals.

Smith conceded that, despite the Movement, racial discrimination around the world, within the US and even within the Virgin Islands has not ended but stated “People of African descent all over the world owe the African American a debt of gratitude for their struggle in the Civil Rights Movement.”

“BVIslanders need to look at that and consider the importance that has to us that we were able to go to the United States, get an education and come back to the BVI and use those newly acquired skills to develop the BVI,” Smith remarked.

He also noted that while many Virgin Islanders attended the University of the West Indies in the past, a great number then and even now have attended US colleges and universities which could not have been attended by blacks fifty years ago.

Local entrepreneur and craft maker, Kishmet Daniel said, “we need more men like Martin Luther King to be politicians in the BVI so the younger generation that is coming could hear positive things and see true leaders that want to uplift the people and their country.”

She described him as a man with a vision who taught African Americans to love themselves and to work towards developing their talent in an effort at escaping poverty.

Another social activist and commentator, Natalio Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru expressed that African people in America have made some strides and gains since the March on Washington but felt there was still a lot of work to be done in the world to ensure that every section of the community and every group of people has an equal opportunity to live a comfortable existence and be able to reach their full potential.

“As we celebrate the march and the fight for racial equality we still recognise that we have a long way to go until we get to where we really need to be,” he stated.

He also agreed that things may seem different then when there were in fact some similar issues. “I still believe that we have struggled to take up economic opportunities that we believe are traditionally for white people essentially,” he stated.

He urged that locals understand that they too can invest in themselves just as foreign investors invest in the Territory and was keen on examples set by businesses and companies such as CCT that are locally owned by persons of African ancestry. He acknowledged that there were problems but said pride can be taken from the fact that companies such as CCT competes with international companies

“We should constantly be reminded of the fact that we are not on a level playing field and we must always strive to reach our full potential and not allow the colour of our skin or the concept that we cannot be great or we cannot be as good as anybody else to limit us in what we attempt to do,” he said.

Commentator Alred Frett said Dr King's dream was still alive today but is yet to be fully realized. "We all have a responsibility to end up making that dream a reality. It's not such an easy task, it cost him his life. We would like to think that we can live ours in trying to fulfill that purpose. If not for us, for generations still to come," he added.

Meanwhile, Third District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser, RA said there was no question of the importance of the march and the activities of Dr King. He said it brought to the fore the injustices meted out to people of colour in the US and said this naturally, has impacted lives of people of colour in the Virgin Islands.

“Make no mistake about it,” Hon. Fraser said, “there are still forms of oppression and racism within our very community but we as a people and leaders like myself have to strive to make sure the awareness is brought to the public and let everyone know that it is not to be tolerated.”

He felt that the entire Civil Rights Movement, in particular the actions and visions of Dr King are things we must all continue to ensure are pursued and fought for while making the younger generation aware every step of the way.