David Hamilton Jackson (September 28, 1884 – May 30, 1946) was a

labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

advocate in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...

, later the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

. Jackson was an important figure in the struggle for increased

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

and workers' rights on the islands. He petitioned for

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

, and organized the islands' first trade union. Following the transfer of the territory to American control in 1917, he lobbied for US citizenship for the islanders.

Life and career

Jackson worked as an educator and later a bookkeeper and clerk before becoming involved in the politics of the Danish West Indies. He traveled to Denmark and successfully petitioned for the repeal of a 1779 law which prohibited independent newspapers and enforced strict censorship on all publications in the territory. Upon returning home, he established the first free newspaper, '' The Herald''. The date of this event, November 1, is celebrated as an annual

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

known as "

Liberty Day Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

", D. Hamilton Jackson Day, or Bull and Bread Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the help of Ralph Bough, Jackson organized the first union in the Danish West Indies, St. Croix Labor Union, in 1913. He lobbied for the transfer of the islands to American control. After his visit, a majority of the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

was convinced that Danish rule over the islands should be ended. A residential community in

Christiansted Christiansted is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark. History The town was founded ...

has been named in his honour.

References

Sources

St. Croix Public School: D. Hamilton Jackson Biography
*https://web.archive.org/web/20160310145643/http://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/fates/d-hamilton-jackson-rebel-and-hero/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20151210111349/http://webpac.uvi.edu/imls/pi_uvi/profiles1972/Judges_Attorneys/Jackson_DH/text.shtml

External links

"The Herald"
issues openly online in the

Digital Library of the Caribbean The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is an international digital library operated collaboratively by the contributing partners. Partners Current partners continue to grow on a regular basis and are listed on thdLOC Partner Page Partners in ...

1884 births 1946 deaths American civil rights activists American trade union leaders United States Virgin Islands activists People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands People from the Danish West Indies Danish trade union leaders Labor in the Caribbean {{worker-activist-stub

Life and career

See also

References

Sources

External links