The 17th Board of Education of the Virgin Islands is pleased to recognize the 168th anniversary of Emancipation. On Monday, July 3, 1848, the chains of physical slavery were broken in Frederiksted, St. Croix. We take this annual opportunity to pay down on the debt we owe to our liberators. The heroic sacrifice of the leadership of General Buddhoe and Admiral Martin King brought the African descendants of the Danish West Indies their first taste of human dignity and worth. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, we urge the people of the Virgin Islands of the United States, to pause in reverential reflection of the magnitude of this incredible accomplishment in our struggle for humanity. Excerpt from: Conversation Between Martin King and Buddy Ben “Me yerry say de nager bin play de deuce da town, De fort bin hab no powder dem say, foo shoot dem down; You blebe me, Bassin Gentlemen, dem brave pon me word, You nebber bin goin catch dem gib de nager up dem sword, Dem know foo use dem right, da dem know how foo fight; Hura foo dem, hurrah!”