Rothschild Francis

Rothschild "Polly" Francis (1891–1963) was a self-educated activist in the Virgin Islands. He fought for rights in the press, citizenship for Virgin Islanders, and racial equality. To advance these goals he created a newspaper, The Emancipator, spoke in front of a Senate Committee, and engaged in civil disobedience. He refused to give up his faith in the political ideals of the U.S. Constitution and Founding Fathers – a theme which would continue throughout his life. The results of the increased funding proved successful as Virgin Island student tested at a much higher level than African American students in the Southern United States."

Opinion on U.S. Navy rule Rothschild Francis was in support of the educational funding and health improvements made by U.S. Navy rule, and even addressed this in an appearance before the United States Senate Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions in March of 1924, but he believed that the islands should be run by a civil government, and not a military one.

Accused of criminal libel For the next year, many islanders wrote to the paper in support of Francis' writings, but in 1924, Francis was accused of criminal libel, taken to court without the use of a jury, and sentenced to 30 days of imprisonment by Judge George Washington Williams. The sentencing came in response to an article posted in The Emancipator where Francis added a personal statement to the end of an incident summary involving local police claiming, "How long O Justice! How long!"

Deportation of editor Thomas F. H. Morenga-Bonaparte Another incident involving The Emancipator happened in 1922, when Virgin Island native Thomas F. H. Morenga-Bonaparte published an article stating, "It is no gainsaying the fact that something is wrong with our Police Department; of course we cannot rightly use the word force, for we would be wrong in so doing. A police force is made up not only of men with heads and wearing stripes, badges, uniforms, or civilian clothes; but brains in the men's heads coupled with discretion are the main factors of such a responsible body...The holes in the police department should be darned." A Police Commission was held soon after where after a month of questioning the defendant, Captain Henry Hughes Hough signed an order of deportation. When questioned by a local reporter on the legitimacy of a deportation of an island native, Hughes declined to comment.

Famous quote In 1925, Francis wrote perhaps, his most famous quote in The Emancipator when he wrote, "Our population is Negro. The officials are white – white Americans. There's the trouble in a nut-shell...We want no form of government which is HALF CIVIL AND HALF NAVAL. We want a purely civil form of American insular government. We want U.S. Citizenship. We will be content with nothing less." The petition was led by Senator Alma Francis Heyliger.

Memorials On April 6, 1942, a famous local square in the Virgin Islands where Francis frequently gave his public speeches was renamed in his honor to Rothschild Francis Market Square. In 1990, a life-size bronze statue of Francis was erected in a local park to commemorate the achievements that Francis for the progress of civil rights in the U.S. Virgin Islands.