Memories of My Mother: An Interactive Digital Archive

Happy Mother’s Day 2021! Today, the Virgin Islands Museum, Civic and Cultural Center begins work on its first digital exhibition entitled: Memories of My Mother: An Interactive Virgin Islands Digital Archive Project.  We will be collecting essays, poems, stories, anecdotes, memories, photos, videos, letters, and other memorabilia about Virgin Islands mothers which will become part of the mosaic of the experience of women in the Virgin Islands.

How can you participate? Beginning Wednesday, May 12, 2021, we will post a questionnaire on our website for you to fill out that will ask questions about your mother’s story.   When and where was she born?  When did she or her family come to the Virgin Islands?  Is she a Virgin Islander of several generations?  Did she migrate recently?  Did she move to another Caribbean island for schooling?  Did she move to New York or Miami or Atlanta in search of a better life? Do you have pictures of her graduation or wedding or of her as a young child?  How big was her family? What was her occupation and community activities?  What church did she attend?  Was she a nurse, a teacher, a homemaker, dressmaker, a businessperson, a property owner, or legislator?  Did she have a big family or a small one?  What is your favorite story about her?  What is your favorite memory?  Do you have newspaper clippings about her?

These are some of the questions that we are interested in as we create a Virgin Islands narrative about women.  We are interested in the stories of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers, daughters, and nieces, living, or deceased from all segments of our community.  We are interested in contributions big and small.  We are interested in stories from 1900 to 2010. Stay tuned for more information on how and where to submit your information.  

As we compile these stories, we plan to engage young writers, artists, and storytellers in our community to create this archive and exhibit.  Every month, we will feature several women on an exhibit page.  When our museum opens, we will curate an exhibit on women in the Virgin Islands, of which your story will become a part.  Like the lyrics from the popular Broadway musical Hamilton:

“And when you’re gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame? Who tells your story?” Let’s keep the flames and memories of our mothers alive!  Happy Mother’s Day!