David Hamilton Jackson

Born in 1884 on the island of St. Croix, just 36 years after the abolition of slavery. He was educated as a teacher (c. 1908 -1912), but was dismissed by the Danish school authorities for speaking out critically about the Catholic Church. David later (1914) became a clerk, from which he again was dismissed for a run-in with Governor Helweg-Larsen. He then left to study law at the University of Chicago.
Charismatic, tough, and a great orator, he used his talents to effectively agitate the Danish in favor of better living conditions for the impoverished black citizens. His talent and whit landed him as leader of the local unions, and in Copenhagen (1915) where he spoke on behalf of his impoverished brethren and gained certain sympathies from the Danish.
At the same time, he founded and began publishing of "The Herald" (Nov. 1915). He used his 4 page
periodical to vehemently criticize Danish colonial rule, and encouraged the people of his class to be
proud and demand better socio-economic conditions for themselves. Like his newspaper, David
established the St. Croix Labour Union in November 1915 and called the first general strike on St. Croix January 24, 1916. The strike was led as a result of the Planters Society (plantation owners) refusal to
increase wages and improve working conditions. By strikes end on February 26, not only had wages
increased from 20 cents a day to 35 cents a day but the work day was shortened to 9 hours.
After the U.S. purchase of the territory in 1917, Jackson completed his law degree at Howard University in Washington. When he returned, he became a judge and politician until his death in 1946. Today he is honored and celebrated as "the Black Moses" that helped to free his people from slavery with his very own day, November 1-the day he founded The Herald.