Emile Griffith Brought Boxing Glory To The Virgin Islands

First in a series highlighting notable Virgin Islanders during Black History Month

By Winston Nugent

Emile Alphonse Griffith

It is said as a teen he was working at a hat factory on a hot summer day when the owner of the hat factory agreed to his request to work shirtless. When the owner, a former amateur boxer noticed his frame, he took Griffith to trainer Clancy’s gym and as they would say, “the rest was history.”

He won the New York Golden Gloves in 1958 and turned professional that same year. Many in the boxing world recognized him as a three division world champion. He was a consummate fighter. He retired with a record of (85) wins; (25) knockouts; (24) loses and (2) draws.

Winston Nugent

An extremely well done documentary, Ring of Fire of his life was shown on HBO. The story also documented one of the most shocking and brutal events in the history of boxing in 1962 during a bout against Benny Paret. Griffith beat the man so badly that he died from the injuries sustained in the ring.

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Next Week: Hubert Harrison

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By: Winston Nugent

A Black History Month Special: A Profile of a Virgin Islander

Hubert Harrison

Born: April 27, 1883

Died: December 17, 1927

He was called “The voice of Harlem radicalism.” He was born in Estate Concordia, St. Croix during Danish occupation of the now U.S. Virgin Islands. When his mother and father died, he traveled to New York, an orphan at the age of 17 years old. He found odd jobs such as a bellhop and as an elevator operator. He was an intelligent and ambitious young man and so he decided to attend night school where he studied sociology, science, psychology, literature and drama. As a result of confrontations with racial oppression, he gravitated to and joined the socialist party where he met African-American and Caribbean-American such as A. Phillip Randolph, Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Cyril Briggs, and Chandler Owen. These social activists and writer of the Harlem Renaissance admired his intellect, the nicknamed, The Black Socrates.” He was described by some of his peers as the “father of Harlem radicalism.” And the Jamaican-American author, journalist and historian, Joel Augustus Rogers described him as, “the foremost Afro-American intellect of his time.” He was an active voice in Virgin Islands causes after the March 1917 U.S. purchase of the Virgin Islands and subsequent abuses under U.S. Navel occupation.

Bio Scan:

            . In 1919 he founded “The Liberty League and “The Voice,” the first organization and the first newspaper of race-relations regarding the “New Negro Movement.”

            . In 1920 he was Editor-in-Chief of the “Negro World,” the newspaper of Marcus Gravey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

            . In 1924 he founded “The Internal Colored Unity League (ICUL) which urged black people to develop, “race consciousness” as a defensive measure to be aware of their racial oppression and use that awareness to unite.

            . In 9125 he co-founded “The New York Public Liberary Negro Collection” which is now the world famous “Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture.

            . In 1927 he edited and published “Embryo of the Voice of the Negro” and “The Voice of the Negro.”

            . He was considered to be a brilliant West Indian-American writer, philanthropists, social scientist, orator, educator, critic and radical political activist.

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By: Winston Nugent

A Black History Month Special: A Profile of a Virgin Islander.

Terrence Alphonso Todman

Born: March 13, 1926

As a little boy growing up on his native St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands with (12) brothers and sisters, he dreamed of exploring other parts of the world. After graduating from public school, he enrolled at Inter American University in Puerto Rico. His wondrous imagination prompted him to drop out and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer. He was sent to Japan after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 11. He became a first lieutenant during his four years of service. As a result of his outstanding service, he was placed in the “Infantry Hall of Fame” at Fort Binning in Georgia. When his army service was completed, he decided to pursue a diplomatic career and so while earning his advanced degree in public administration, he worked for the State Department as an International Relations Officer in the Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Department. His first post was in 1957 as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Delhi, India. Because languages came easily to him, in addition to Arabic, he is fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian. He accepted his first ambassadorship in 1969 when he became the Ambassador of the African Republic of Chad.

Bio-Scan:

          . In 1972 he became the American Ambassador to Guinea located in Northwest Africa.

            . In 1975 he was appointed Ambassador to Costa Rica becoming the first African American to serve in such a position in Latin America.

            .In 1977 he became Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. In his position he helped broker the Panama Canal Treaty and worked with Cuba to developed U.S. interests, maritime and fishing agreements.

            . In 1978 he was named Ambassador to Spain by President Jimmy Carter.

            . In 1983 he was asked to serve as Ambassador to South Africa. He refused saying that he could not support President Ronald Regan’s stance on Apartheid.

            . In 1983 he served as Ambassador to Denmark.

            . In 1989 George H. W. Bush named him a career ambassador which is equivalent to the military’s four star general and the state deployment highest rank.

            . His latest diplomat assignment was Ambassador to Argentina.

            . In 1986 he was honored with the Virgin Islands Medal of Honor.

            . In 1988 he received Denmark’s Presidential Meritorious Service Award.

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