Some among us are 'passionate advocates for slavery & colonialism'- Premier
The Premier was at the time giving remarks at the Virgin Islands Heritage Month Committee Emancipation Service at Sunday Morning Well on August 3, 2025, when he noted that freedom from crime, political freedom, mental freedom, and spiritual freedom are what the Virgin Islands should aspire towards.
“There are those among us who are passionate advocates not for freedom but for slavery and colonialism. This is consistent with history. There’s a quote that has been attributed to Harriet Tubman. It says: ‘I freed one thousand slaves. I could have freed one thousand more, if only they knew they were slaves’”.
Excuses
The Premier also said there “are many among us” who make every excuse why “we” should continue to suffer under the indignity of colonialism. They do not believe that the Virgin Islands is capable of managing its own affairs. They believe that other peoples in the world should manage our affairs for us, perhaps because we are not smart enough, or we lack enough moral integrity, or we're not civilized enough to manage our own affairs.”
Dr Wheatley said there is no need to feel so inferior when everything in the Virgin Islands’ story says that the people have achieved so much with so little assistance from its administering power.
Further, he said Virgin Islanders have excelled in education in top universities around the world, and it also has citizens who have achieved excellence in the Arts, the Sciences, Theology, Business, and countless industrial pursuits.
The VI is one of 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories falling under the remit of the Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24). That mission visited the VI in 2024 and released a report stating that “there is no alternative to the principle of self-determination” for the United Kingdom Overseas Territory.
The C-24 also recommended the implementation of a UN-backed educational programme focused on the political status options endorsed by the UN.
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12 Responses to “Some among us are 'passionate advocates for slavery & colonialism'- Premier”
"Who the cap fit, let him wear it."
For the people of the VI to be free they need their voice not yours.
A referendum on the choices available to them for self determination will be the choice of the people. It is you that is a slave to Independence as you see that is your only way to holding onto that power that you have over the people. The UK has for a long time being preparing for self determination. You have not. You have only been preparing for Independence and to take more power and for more corruption.
It is for the people to decide and the VI people know and the UN knows that there are other better choices available to the VI people. All the people need to resist is the brainwashing that you are preparing disguised as "education." We see you and your gang have already started.
The way out of the colonialism exploitive,,” exclusionary, controlling,, dependency strangle hold is unity, collective group effort, developing self-empowerment planning, and embracing the practice of ethno-aggregation, a PowerNomics principle best define as the voluntary concentration of individual/group effort, resources (time, expertise, facilities, raw material,equipment, manpower, money, machinery, etc), votes, etc, around a community’s need to improve its economic and political competitiveness ( Dr. Claud Anderson) .
That’s not just a misdiagnosis. It’s a deflection.
The truth is far less flattering to those in power: we don’t lack confidence in ourselves. We lack confidence in them. The current crop of ministers and most of the other elected representatives have, time and again, proven themselves incapable of principled leadership. What masquerades as governance is often self-interest dressed up in nationalist rhetoric. The problem isn’t colonialism; it’s the political mediocrity that thrives under the present system.
This system rewards loyalty over competence, silence over integrity, and spectacle over substance. Those with the gravitas and moral clarity to lead are routinely pushed aside to make room for those who toe the line, say the right things, and protect the status quo.
So no, we’re not making excuses. We’re calling it as we see it. And until leadership stops hiding behind the language of liberation to avoid the hard work of reform, the indignity we suffer will not be imposed, it will be self-inflicted.