When Jed JohnHope and Yellow Cedar Media opened the floodgates with a bold question at a town hall hosted at RTPark on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the response was overwhelming. The forum, which featured a panel discussion and drew over 2,000 attendees both in-person and online, posed a simple yet provocative question to Virgin Islanders at home and abroad: Why did you leave?
The response—and the interest—was off the charts.
For weeks, social media has been buzzing with variations of the same question: Why did you leave? Are you coming back? What’s stopping you? What’s wrong in the Virgin Islands that makes returning so hard, even for those born and raised here?
Mr. JohnHope moderated an evening of candid conversation and thought-provoking reflection. The panel featured a diverse group of Virgin Islanders now living in the mainland United States:
- Lisa Stines, a real estate professional;
- Dexter Hypolite, an electrical engineer;
- Ana Watt, an Associate Director of Engineering at Verizon;
- Rebecca Best, currently working in emergency management; and
- Karim Jackson, a Master Auto Technician.
Karim Jackson, who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and who is the Great Grandson of David Hamilton Jackson, one of St. Croix’s most influential historical figures, had this to say to kick off the discussion: “Over the years things have been going down on St. Croix from the police to education. It seems every time I come back home the island is going down. I have thought of coming home and opening a business but every time I come back home I find it has changed for the worse. I’ve not seen any growth. Too many killings, too many deaths…I have a daughter and wife but raising my daughter there is not something I want to do. But I love my island, and I would one day love to bring my daughter back so she could enjoy what I used to call home.”
Dexter Hypolite had mixed feelings on the topic: “A lot of the time we have a complacency in the Virgin Islands. We can do solutions but we choose not to. We already know our government is broke, but if we could help out it would be better. Be a part of the solution sometimes. I know it’s tough but it’s your home. The Virgin Islands are lovely. Being in Houston Texas, it’s humid all the time. I like to run but there are days I can’t run because the air quality is terrible in Houston. But in the Virgin Islands I can run everyday and it’s nice. That’s one of the things we have, that island beauty. We need to protect it and keep it for generations to come.”
Lisa Stines, who has owned a few businesses on St. Croix and St. Thomas is well aware of the pros and cons of living and trying to run a business here. She believes that most people’s perception of the Virgin Islands is that it’s paradise. “I love my island. I love everything about the Virgin Islands…. But overall, we have to dig a little deeper to make our islands shine…I was lucky, I had an entrepreneurial spirit. But our young people have nothing to grasp, nothing to aspire for. They want to get off the island as soon as they turn eighteen. There’s just no way to keep them. We need to empower our youth, offer them a little more. There’s no mentorship for our youth. Nobody’s showing them how to thrive, not just survive. I feel if we can get more opportunities for our youth they will open their own business and fill in the gaps that we need to have filled in.”
Ana Watt looked at it from a little different point of view: “There are many layers to the problem, but I think education is at the heart of it. Every strong economy has a strong education system. Every angle I look at on coming home comes down to, how do you make money here? I love everything about St. Croix, the people, the beaches, but living there on a full time basis is just very tough. You just can’t see the opportunity to grow there.”
Mr. JohnHope asked the panel how they would advise the Governor and the Senate on how to attract Virgin Islanders to come home. Lisa Stines was quick to answer. “They have got to stop putting up road blocks to open a business…One of my businesses I opened, I got my business license in three weeks. Everyone was amazed. It usually takes months. I sat on DLCA and went there every day… Look, if someone is going to open a business, there should be more direction, like Business 101 on how to open. What are the steps, the process?”
Rebecca Best admitted that she doesn’t come back too often. “I don’t visit home too much. For quite a few years I didn’t visit at all.. When I did come back, so many things I am fond of, that I remember are not there anymore. And what’s worse they haven’t been replaced. I recently had two little ones and there wasn’t any space for them to go and play and not just places to go, but programs for them to join.”
Karim Jackson looked at it another way: “I think getting an education in the States and then coming back is a way to help out. But things have to change on St. Croix if we are going to come back home. A lot of things are going down, the police force, the corruption. Too many people know each other down here and things keep swinging around in circles.”
Mr. JohnHope believed it best to end the conversation on a positive note. “What do you miss most about the Virgin Islands, and do you ever see yourself coming back home?”
- Dexter Hypolite: “One of the best things we have is the beauty of the islands. That is what we all love.”
- Anna Watt: I miss the people, the food, family, culture, the beach. I would love to come back home if the jobs were there. We need strong education, healthcare. Invest in the kids. Teach them so they can work where they are needed, say in the hospitals.”
- Rebecca Best: I was trying to move back on a full-time basis. I applied for a job with a government agency but never heard back from them.”
- Karim Jackson: I love the beaches, the culture, the family life. But I just don’t see any benefit to moving back home. Not right now.”
Mr. JohnHope agreed with Rebecca. “I think we have all had that kind of problem dealing with the government.” And he added: “That’s the reality of folks not moving back home, they are unable to find the quality of life they find in the States.”
Karim Jackson provided great perspective: “We have to start with the kids, if we make opportunities for the kids, if we keep the kids close, then there will be change.”
Mr. JohnHope turned the question over to the live audience at the modern, air-conditioned, RTPark meeting room. Excellent appetizers and refreshments were served by Ashley Ellis of Yaadie in St. Croix.
The talk on the floor echoed the panel’s thoughts. “I think a lot of people are angry about the way things are,” one of the participants stated. “It seems all of the problems are not going to change. But there are things that can change. If we can just work at the things that can change, chip away at them, we could have a great deal more going for us on the island.”
Mr. JohnHope who did an excellent job of moderating, given the complexity of the issue and the diversity of opinions that were brought forth, summed up the night.
“I personally would like to see each of you come back home, mainly because I am selfish and want to see the best for our island…And yet I look at it in this way, it’s not about the Virgin Islands not doing enough for me, but I’m trying to figure out what else I can do for the Virgin Islands…I can’t get vexed by the poor decisions being made unless I’m willing to take a seat at the table and fight for better decisions to be made,” his words seemed to echo one of the great inspirational Presidents of our times John F. Kennedy. “That’s what I’m hoping to leave everyone with tonight. We can’t get vexed at the politicians because we elected them. And if you’re not happy with the politicians you can become a politician yourself…This place we call home is so small, and so fragile, and so beautiful, I don’t want to lose it.”
It was a night of great thoughts, of great ideas, of people who cared about their home enough to make the effort to come out and speak their minds. It was a night of democratic action, when democracy shone at its brightest light, illuminating not only the problems but the possible solutions.
Watch the full recording of “Why We Left” here.
With ‘Why We Left’, Mr. JohnHope has eloquently set the stage for its upcoming companion piece, Why We Stayed, which will take place at Levels in downtown Christiansted on Tuesday, June 17th at 7 PM.
See you there!
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