Biography

Mr. Dominic Latty is Vice-President and co-founder of the Virgin Islands Youth Advocacy Coalition (VIYAC), a non-profit organization incorporated in 2009 committed to youth civics-related initiatives. Latty, who is currently making plans to pursue a Juris Doctorate in the mainland United States, holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Africana Studies and Computer Science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Latty is also owner of a new wholesale and import business named Beaudiere Imports, which was launched in November 2011 and specializes in distributing natural snack products throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands. The son of a Jamaican father and American mother, Latty was born and raised on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and continues to live on the island. Until he attends law school, Latty divides his time between his business, volunteering at a law office and VIYAC-related activities.

Article Title

Caribbean Identities, American Polities – A study of U.S. Virgin Islands' identity and political ties and options for increased self-government and Caribbean integration

Abstract

This paper examines Virgin Islands' identity and nationalism and the factors which have negatively impacted its development, with an emphasis on the colonial relationship that has existed between the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and the United States since 1917, when the United States purchased the Danish West Indies from Denmark for $25 million.

The USVI, although an American territory, has developed throughout its colonial history a unique culture, history, identity and a set of ideals significantly different than that of the United States. Although not a sovereign nation, Virgin Islanders have constructed what can be labeled as a national identity that acknowledges their Caribbean cultural and historical roots while embracing American sovereignty.

Since the 1917 purchase, Virgin Islanders have acquired a great deal of internal self-government, yet many unsolved issues concerning this unique juxtaposition of American and Caribbean identities remain, which have, in turn, impeded social and economic progress in the territory. Politics and culture are in fact, intertwined and it is impossible to separate the two. The USVI’s colonial relationship with the United States, in its current form, is in fact an obstacle which limits the USVI from fully embracing and further developing its Caribbean cultural identity. This paper explores how these two identities clash on the islands and proposes solutions for how the USVI can more effectively reconcile its American political identity with its West Indian heritage and cultural roots in order to better integrate the USVI into Caribbean affairs.