Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Mar 06, 2026

All-male ‘Heroes & Foreparents’ poster needs to be corrected! – Skelton-Cline

All-male ‘Heroes & Foreparents’ poster needs to be corrected! – Skelton-Cline

Echoing similar sentiments as that of the Junior Minister for Trade and Economic Development, Hon Shereen D. Flax-Charles (AL), Honestly Speaking radio host Claude O. Skelton-Cline has criticised the official flyer released by the Department of Information and Public Relations for Heroes and Foreparents Day.

The Photo, which features all males as ‘Heroes & Foreparents’ has come under criticism for its lack of female representation as it relates to the women who were prominent in VI’s history.

Skelton-Cline on the Tuesday, October 18, 2022, edition of his Honestly Speaking show pointed out the poster’s context to a patriarchal society that has come at the oppression and subjugation of females.

“Just as we do and attack issues on racism, and sexism and classism, we must also do the same when it comes to this matter of gender equality,” he said.

“And so the poster was issued… but it had all men and so that needs to be corrected, there are a myriad of women living history, recent history, [and] distant history,” he added.

Junior Minister for Trade and Economic Development Honourable Flax-Charles had vehemently rejected the poster, 'I suppose whoever did the flyer couldn't think on one BVI woman that have done anything significant. It is insulting and shameful. Every day it Is a fight for women and the Sister islands.'


Myriad of women available - Skelton-Cline


He pointed to persons like Eileene L. Parsons OBE, and the late Delores Lettsome-Christopher, Millicent Penn-Mercer, Dorothy Turnbull, and others, including long-serving educators, who could have been included on the poster.

“These are things that we must correct,” he added while offering other possible names of women who can be 'heroes and foreparents'.

Junior Minister for Trade and Economic Development Honourable Flax-Charles had vehemently rejected the poster, “I suppose whoever did the flyer couldn't think on one BVI woman that have done anything significant. It is insulting and shameful. Every day it Is a fight for women and the Sister islands.”

Skelton-Cline added that too often women are left out of the story, history, and meaningful contributions to the territory when, infact, men would not have been able to achieve a lot had it not been for their female counterparts.

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