ST. CROIX - Despite rainy weather and even though it is not an election year, residents gathered in Grove Place on Monday afternoon to celebrate the life, legacy and accomplishments of labor leader and community activist D. Hamilton Jackson during Liberty Day ceremonies

Also known as D. Hamilton Jackson Day, or Bull and Bread Day, Virgin Islanders observe Liberty Day annually on Nov. 1 in recognition of a powerful labor speech given by the activist on that date in 1927.

Since the holiday fell on a Sunday this year, Monday was the official holiday in the Virgin Islands.

This year, the ceremony was organized by members of the Grove Place Weed and Seed Teen Youth Group, a task relinquished by adult members of the Grove Place Action Committee.

Several public officials spoke at the ceremony, including Sen. Sammuel Sanes.

Sanes said the local holiday is a great day for all Virgin Islanders.

"Oftentimes, we look outside of the Virgin Islands for our heroes," Sanes said. "Here we have a hero that inspired us to do what we can to help our people. Not only is he a hero, but he is a role model."

Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis said Jackson's legacy will live a long time.

Francis said Jackson was a man with a vision. "He had a plan from the beginning to the end and did it non-violently," Francis said.

"We as Virgin Islanders are still benefiting from what he has done," he said. "He lived making a difference in the Virgin Islands."

"What are we doing to make these islands a better place?" Francis asked at the close of his remarks.

Grove Place Weed and Seed Teen Youth Group president Laquida Iles, a junior at Educational Complex, was the featured guest speaker at the event.

Labeling herself a proud Grovian, born and raised in Grove Place, Iles said Jackson took a stand and defended his positions with courage and conviction. She said, however, that he would be disappointed if he were still alive today.

"Too much violence and crimes are happening not only in our community, but all over the world," Iles said.

"As an educator, do you think Mr. Jackson would appreciate the fact that we go to school and have to rush to do our work because there are not enough books for the students to take home?" she asked.

Gov. John deJongh Jr. said the young people's presence at the ceremony proves that they are ready to accept the challenge handed to them. DeJongh said it is important to emphasize the positive rather than the negative to get things done.

"The future can be bright if we work together," deJongh said. "Here in these islands, we have been fortunate because of the people that we are."

"As we leave here today, let's remember the principle of D. Hamilton Jackson - we just don't do for today, but we do for tomorrow," he said.

Jackson was born Sept. 28, 1884, in Estate East Hill, St. Croix. He worked as an activist in the labor and civil-rights movements, and was a newspaper publisher, educator, lawyer, judge and legislator before his death in 1946. In the early 1900s, the bookkeeper and educator-turned-activist changed the course of history in the fight for freedom of the press and by establishing labor unions and lobbying for citizenship.

Dating back to 1779, the Danish government imposed a strict censorship on all publications in the territory and had passed a law allowing only government-subsidized newspapers to be published. In 1915, Jackson traveled to Denmark in a fight to revoke the royal edict, persuading the king of Denmark to change the law, granting the territory freedom of the press. He then returned home and published The Herald, the first Virgin Islands newspaper that did not bear the Danish government seal.

In honor of the publication, a bull was slaughtered and roasted, and roast beef and bread were given to the public to celebrate, which is why Liberty Day is also known as Bull and Bread Day.

Jackson's accomplishments were not limited to this victory. In 1913, Jackson became the first Virgin Islander to organize a labor union in the territory, enabling plantation workers to address labor issues with discussion and organized protests rather than physical uprisings.

In 1917, when the Danish West Indies became the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hamilton lobbied for U.S. citizenship for the islands' residents.

- Contact Cristian Simescu at 774-8772 or e-mail simescu@dailynews.vi.