Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

BVI joining Black Lives Matter movement

BVI joining Black Lives Matter movement

The British Virgin Islands is joining the ranks of protesters involved in the Black Lives Matter movement happening globally.

Radio talkshow host Claude Skelton Cline has issued a clarion call to BVI residents from all ethnic backgrounds to participate in a solidarity march this Saturday, June 20.

The march will begin at 3 pm from the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park in Road Town and will culminate at the Queen Elizabeth Park.

“The march is a simple march of our showing, in a demonstrable way, our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in America and indeed across the world against racism, against bigotry, against intolerance. It’s about showing our solidarity with the sufferers of the world,” Skelton Cline said on his Honestly Speaking radio programme on Tuesday.


We are vulnerable too!

Skelton Cline told residents that they are vulnerable to racism too, as they also travel around the world, and many of their children attend school abroad.

“We are just as susceptible. If these things do not change institutionally, if these things do not change systematically, we and our children, and our grandchildren can become victims. This is the time for all people to join with a singular voice in solidarity of what has happened to persons of African descent throughout this world. We must move from protest to policy changes; we must move from demonstration to legislation,” he added.

The Black Lives Matter movement was revived after the May 25 killing of an African American man, George Floyd. Floyd died after an on-duty caucasian police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The cop, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder.


Addressing controversial cartoon

In the meantime, Skelton Cline’s call for local support of the Black Lives Matter movement comes at a time when he and local news website Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) have come under heavy criticism for a cartoon of Governor Augustus Jaspert kneeling on his neck. The cartoon is directly related to statements he made on his radio talk show on June 9.

Responding to the backlash via the same medium, Skelton Cline said he did not take the cartoon personally.

He explained: “It’s not about me. I’m a representation, as a citizen with a point of view of what I see and what we are experiencing as Virgin Islanders. The depiction of the Governor is a … reflection that represents the United Kingdom in our geopolitical construct. That’s the way I see it, that’s the way I took it.”

The cartoon has been deemed as being in poor taste and calls were made for its removal and even for advertisers to boycott the Julian Willock-owned news website.

At least one advertiser, CCT, has since suspended future advertising with VINO until the cartoon is removed.

Skelton Cline, however, has called for persons to redirect their energies towards identifying and boycotting companies across the US, UK and the wider world that still practise slave labour and racism.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×