Dr. King wrote in his letter from Birmingham Jail that, “Freedom is never given voluntarily by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

July 3 is Emancipation Day across the Virgin Islands, a day where we can reflect on the sacrifice our ancestors made for the hope of freedom.

After a series of revolts throughout the 1830s and 1840s, the Danish rulers of the island drafted documents to dissolve slavery under a 12-year plan. But we refused to wait.

Slaves began organizing among themselves, planning and preparing, and on July 3, 1848, at the sound of conch shells blowing in succession throughout the island, thousands of enslaved people left their plantations towards freedom. Nearly 8,000 enslaved rose up through the towns and plantations of St. Croix, demanding freedom from those who had kept them in chains. Through the organizing efforts of men like John Gottlieb and many of my ancestors, the St. Croix revolt ended slavery that day in what was then the Danish West Indies, now the U.S. Virgin Islands, freeing thousands of people who had been enslaved for generations.

There’s much to be learned from our history. The slave rebellions throughout the 19th Century teach us that power lies with each other, and that by organizing and working together, great things can happen. Let’s continue to work together and fight every day for equality and justice.

Happy Emancipation Day, friends.

— Rep. Stacey Plaskett