The inscription on the base of the statue says “Persecuted (Martyr) Banished / Territorial medal of honor / 1986 / How Long Oh Justice! How Long?”
Rothschild Francis was born in 1891 in Saint Thomas of the Virgin Islands while they were under the control of Denmark. He lived there through the U.S. acquisition of the Virgin Islands, moved to New York in 1931, and died in 1963. He created The Emancipator in 1921, a newspaper which pushed for social justice and civil liberties in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
