I have to be honest. My intro piece has been done for a week or two, but after reading Peter’s heartfelt and moving piece about his mother, Anita Bailey, I had to tear it up and start over. Thanks, Peter, for inspiring me. And thanks, Mrs. Bailey, for giving us Peter.
I would be remiss if I did not reflect on my mother and how her teachings and influence drove me to do everything that I have done, including Yellow Cedar. Growing up on St. Croix was a journey shaped by humble beginnings, but it was also rich with lessons on survival, community, and perseverance.
Some might find this funny, but while growing up, I was smaller than the other kids, the unfortunate byproduct of skipping two grades. At age 6, I started attending St. Dunstan’s Episcopal School in Christiansted, many miles away from home. It was sensory overload for a young child. A new school. A new city. New teachers. New friends. And, as life would have it, new challenges. In the 3rd grade, I encountered my first bully. After several episodes of coming home and complaining to my mother, she looked at me incredulously and said, “Jed, sometimes you have to stand up for yourself and fight.” The next day, I returned to school, no longer afraid of the bully, but brimming with confidence, knowing that I would stand up and defend myself the next time something happened.
In many ways, this is similar to the origins of Yellow Cedar. While we love our home, we all have pain points with life in the Virgin Islands. In 2018, I moved home to care for my ailing mother and quickly realized that the quality of life afforded to Virgin Islanders is drastically different than that stateside. Like many Virgin Islanders, I was frustrated by the potholes, lack of healthcare, poor cell service, and WAPA. So, I started to write op-eds periodically, sharing my thoughts on topics of interest to the community. After writing my first piece on why I believe the industrial development of St. Croix’s south shore was a net positive for the Virgin Islands, I could not get it published in an unnamed local publication. The reason given was that “the publication prefers not to get into politics.” This struck me as odd since (1) that piece was relatively benign and (2) their coverage is largely political. Then, it dawned on me that dissenting voices were being censored. That is a dangerous precedent. If we cannot disagree respectfully, how can we inspire change? If we cannot tell our stories, who will?
My good friend Shomari Moorehead always reminds me that complaining does no one any good. Do something. Once again, I realized that a bully was confronting me, and I chose to stand up for myself and the Virgin Islands. I called Peter, the best journalist that I know, who just so happens to be from St. Thomas, and we embarked on an ambitious six-month project to launch Yellow Cedar. We sought to create a modern platform to help Virgin Islanders tell their stories. We sought to give the overlooked, the forgotten, and the censored a voice.
Like Peter, I believe in the potential of our island paradise. And, I want it to be more. I firmly believe that well-reasoned, healthy discourse improves our community. Virgin Islanders are a fiery and opinionated people. We have a long history of speaking up and standing for what we believe in. My mother was a staunch supporter of Adelbert Bryan and Mario Moorehead. We would listen to their radio programs religiously on Saturday mornings while we performed our weekly chores, soaking in their fiery passion and unwavering dedication to the Virgin Islands. However, it pains me to admit that it feels like that fire has been smoldering in recent years. Where has our fire gone?
In the mid-1950s – Che Guevara, a medical doctor, teamed with Fidel Castro, a lawyer, to start the Cuban revolution. My goal with that reference is not to dissect the politics of that conflict, but instead to show that sometimes life takes us on a circuitous path. I am a chemical engineer, financial services consultant, and entrepreneur by trade, not a journalist. Never in a million years did I think I would start a news magazine. But Peter and I felt it was the right time and opportunity to create a platform where Virgin Islanders could tell our stories—authentically, fearlessly, and unapologetically. And so, Yellow Cedar was born.
Yellow Cedar is more than a daily, digital, news magazine; it’s a call to action. It’s a space where we embrace the African principle of Ubuntu—“I am great because we are great.” It’s about lifting each other, amplifying our voices, and reigniting the fire that has always burned within our community. It’s a reflection of the lessons that I learned growing up on St. Croix—the importance of community, the value of humility, and the power of standing up for yourself. But more than anything, it’s about reigniting the fire within Virgin Islanders and giving us the platform to tell our stories in our voices. Because when we speak, the world should listen.
So, cheers to all the VI mothers who are giving their sons the tools necessary to fight.
Cheers, Ms. Richards.
Cheers, Mrs. Bailey.
Cheers to all of the mothers raising sons in the Virgin Islands.
We know it’s not easy.
This one’s for you.
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