David Hamilton Jackson - The Black Moses

David Hamilton Jackson was born on September 28, 1884, in the Estate East Hill, on the island of St. Croix, in the Danish West Indies. He died on May 30, 1946, on the island of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was vilified as a rebel to the Danish officials who ruled toward the end of the Danish era. Yet, he was lionized as a hero to the Black population who demanded their freedom from slavery in their homeland of St. Croix.

Jackson’s maternal grandfather, James Hamilton McIntosh, or ‘Brother James McIntosh,’ as he was known in the Moravian Church circles, was an Antiguan trained at the Moravian Teachers Training College in Golden Grove Estates, Antigua. According to Moravian Bishop G.G. Maynard Oliver: “When a shortage was realized in the Danish West Indies, Brother McIntosh was sent to St. Croix to be a Lay Preacher and to direct the schools on the three islands; the first of several negro teachers from Antigua who served truthfully and acceptably in this area.”

In 1882, Bishop Oliver published an account of the Emancipation event of July 3, 1848: 

“Shortly after 8 am on that day, Brother McIntosh informed the missionary at Midlands that all the negroes in the West of the island had left their work and were advancing with arms towards Frederiksted to demand their emancipation, and, if necessary, to obtain it by force. The missionary went out to meet the marchers and pleaded with them to stop, but they marched on. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the same thing happened in Christiansted, as armed negroes began setting the plantations on fire; and all the white people, managers and overseers had to flee for their lives and take refuge on ships. When the slaves reached the town of Frederiksted, they demanded emancipation or else they would burn the whole place down. So the Governor-General could do nothing but declare them free.”

After the 1848 emancipation of enslaved Africans in the Danish West Indies, an 1849 Danish labor law fixed salaries and labor conditions for all plantation workers, and prohibited bargaining for better wages or work conditions. This made plantation work unattractive, and many workers opted to leave the plantations and the islands to seek better conditions elsewhere. The government reacted to the labor shortage by making it harder for workers to leave the islands, demanding health certificates and charging fees for passports. When wages were to be negotiated in the fall of 1878, the workers’ demands were denied, and new harsh conditions for traveling were imposed. This sparked the so-called Fireburn Riots, which had been called the largest labor riot in Danish history, during which more than 50 plantations were burned. 

Mary Thomas, was born in Antigua, and arrived in St. Croix in the 1860’s. In 1878, she resided at the Sprat Hall plantation. She had three children but never married. Before the 1878 uprising, she was sentenced for theft and mistreating her children. Historians believe that such sentences were used by authorities to discredit people who opposed their authority. 

Mary Thomas became one of the leaders of the 1878 Fireburn Labor Riots. Due to her role as a leader of the uprising, she became known as Queen Mary. She was arrested, tried, and convicted along with other leaders of the riots. She was sentenced to death for arson and looting but her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

 A huge painting of the insurrection that was led by Queen Mary and others hangs currently in a prominent position in the Frederiksted post office. 

1884 brought about the birth of David Hamilton Jackson. It was thirty-six years after the 1848 emancipation rebellion from slavery, and six years after the Fireburn Riots. He was baptized as a Moravian. His parents were Wilfred and Eliza Jackson.  

Jackson was attracted to the priesthood as a youth, but opted to teach like his parents, both of whom taught at East Hill on St. Croix. His father, once a principal at Estate East Hill School, later taught at Estate Peter’s Rest School. Years after, Wilfred Jackson worked as a bookkeeper for James C. Canegata, father of Dr. David Canegata.

Early in his youth, Jackson benefited from the tutelage of a Catholic priest who helped him with various studies and texts as he became self-disciplined about his education.

In 1909, he attended educational meetings for colored workers. He studied law at Howard University, a historically Black, federally chartered, university in Washington, D.C. It was around 1910 that Jackson returned to St. Croix. By 1915, he was President of the St. Croix Labor Union, the first labor union on St. Croix, which he helped organize with Ralph Bough. The St. Croix labor Union started with a membership of approximately 6,000 members. Jackson was a staunch believer that it was best to use organized protest and dialogue, with the Danish and European plantation owners, instead of violence, to create better working conditions and higher wages. He led a strike by farm workers that resulted in the reduction of the work day to 9 hours, and a raise in wages. 

Jackson was selected by the labor union membership to go to Denmark to advocate for higher daily wages and health benefits for the islanders. He presented their case to the Danish Parliament and King Christian X, and for next three months he met with the King, politicians, the press, and the people of Denmark, giving speeches to crowds that assembled in outdoor plazas in Copenhagen, Denmark. Even though David Hamilton Jackson was regarded as a troublemaker by the Denmark business community, he was ultimately successful in improving both worker’s wages and their living conditions. 

While in Denmark, Jackson also protested for the freedom of the press. From 1779, all newspapers in the islands were subsidized by the Danish government, which obviously brought about a biased point of view. Jackson was a strong advocate for publishing a newspaper for the Black laborers. He successfully petitioned for the repeal of the 1778 law which prohibited independent newspapers and enforced strict censorship on all publications in the islands.    Upon his return from Denmark, Jackson established the first free press publication on St. Croix. The Herald, published its first edition on November 1, 1915, where Jackson served as Editor. The newspaper’s office was located at 1B Kongens Gade (Kings Street), across from the Danish West India and Guinea Company Warehouse. Although he was subsequently assailed by the plantation owners for its publication, Jackson was hailed by the laborers as “The Champion of the People.”

While in Denmark, David Hamilton Jackson also lobbied for the transfer of the islands to American control. After his visit, a majority of the Folketing (Danish Parliament) was convinced that Danish rule over the islands should be ended. 

A poem written by Charles H. Emmanuel Sr. that year spoke to the community’s gratitude for Jackson’s contributions:

“The man that would the mountain tops ascend and be a leader amongst his fellow men…Thy manly dignity for e’er uphold. And struggle for the cause of Liberty. The Gods, at last, will grant thee, Victory.” 

Months after he returned from Denmark, in 1916, Jackson married Theolinda Pentheny at the St. John’s Anglican Church. She was the daughter of prominent businessman Cornelius Pentheny. They were both 32 years of age at the time. 

Later that year, the St. Croix Labor Union membership called for a general strike. Tensions ensued and a Danish warship, ‘The Valerian’ was sent to St. Croix. The ensuing events of World War I created further deprivation on the workers in the islands. 

On October 16, 1916, Denmark sold the islands to the United States of America.

During that year, a tireless David Hamilton Jackson served as a member of the St. Croix Labor Union Bank which led negotiations to purchase several Estates on the island, enabling union members to buy small parcels of land for their individual ownership. 

Even though he was once credited by Denmark for “gaining reforms without bloodshed and violence,” Jackson was simultaneously maligned, during this period, by the Danish and European landowners as being a representative of ‘The Devil from Hell.’ And yet, he was hailed, far and wide,  by his admirers as the “George Washington of his people,” and “The Black Moses.”

After Transfer Day, on March 31, 1917, when U.S. citizenship was promised to those who did not opt for Danish citizenship, the sugar cane industry was greatly curtailed, and the Prohibition Era in the states followed. Consequently, many U.S. Virgin Islanders looked abroad for economic opportunity and gainful employment. 

By 1920, Jackson had taken a home-study course in law with LaSalle Extension University. Later, he continued his studies at Hamilton College of Law, Chicago, Illinois. In 1921, he passed the Bar of Law, and became an Attorney of Criminal Law, after studying at the University of Indiana, Indianapolis, where he received his law degree.

From 1923-1926, a period of Early American Occupation in the islands, Jackson continued to serve in the 18-member Colonial Council. 

After the U.S. purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark, Jackson made several trips to Washington, D.C. to protest Naval rule in the islands and demand a civilian government. 

In 1926, Congress granted Virgin Islanders full citizenship. By 1931, Jackson was appointed Judge of the nine member Municipal Court of St. Croix, replacing Judge Canegata, for whom Jackson’s father had worked as a bookkeeper. He served in that position until his resignation in 1941. During that period, in 1932, Congress moved the authority of the U.S. Virgin Islands to the Department of the Interior.

In 1936, Congress passed the Organic Act, which gave the Territory a measure of self-government over its internal affairs. Jackson served on the Municipal Council during those early years of the formation of the Organic Act, which gave women voting privileges for the first time; and repealed the law making it mandatory to have earnings of at least $300 a year or property valued at $300, before one could vote. 

Jackson was the first Chairman of the St. Croix School Board and served for 15 years. In the 1940’s he returned as Judge, before retiring to private practice. 

The 1930 census showed that he lived at No. 4 Market Street with his wife Theolinda. 

David Hamilton Jackson died on May 30, 1946, at the age of 62.  

On November 1, 1927, Jackson delivered one of his most powerful addresses on behalf of working people. The anniversary of the speech, along with the first day of the publication for his newspaper, The Herald, is now Liberty Day, also known as Bull and Bread Day. To celebrate the publication, which championed the rights of the working man, a bull was slaughtered and roasted, and beef and bread are served to the public. 

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, November 1st, is known by one and all as: D. Hamilton Jackson Day.