It's time for the Virgin Islands to come out of the closet

There were many sayings from my mother that I am reminded of. Growing up, she would say, "What's done in the dark will come out to light;" "Everything that glitter isn't gold;" and "A good name is better than silver and gold."

As a youth, who cares? I mean, really! Youth are often too self-absorbed to really analyze or value these types of prophetic sayings to the point where it makes a whole lot of sense to them. They are living in the here and now so much so that two years to them, seems like such a long time. A 10th-grader will look back at being an eighth grader as decades ago. I get it. I understand that. However, for adults, I am not too sure why these concepts aren't as rational.

As I look at those sayings now, it kind of all makes sense. What I get from them is to be true to who you are and be honest in what you do and blessings will all fall into place. Well, if this is the case, why don't adults running large well-funded agencies in our territory get it?

According to IndexMundi, the Virgin Islands has a population of over 76 percent black people; with over 86 percent of the service workers being black. These service workers are the ones with high impact interaction with tourists.

Then why is it when I see and hear advertising to attract travelers to the Virgin Islands as I travel across America, the ads are rarely representative of this "black" truth? Real black native faces are hardly present in these ads. Honestly, they are non-existent. The Bureau of Economic Research cited our islands as attracting over 2 million travelers per year. I couldn't find racial demographics anywhere. Only age, marital and geographic statistics could be found. However, those who live or lived in the territory can see who the top travelers are in this 2 million.

OK, I get it. The overwhelming majority of tourists coming to our islands is not black. And to ease tourists' anxiety, many companies' - hotels, retailers, recreational, tourism, etc. - ads, illustrate the fact that the islands are not filled with uncivilized black folks.

That's like saying someone will travel from the Virgin Islands to Montana to purchase a mango. Why would they do that if mangoes are all over the Virgin Islands? So why would someone travel all the way from Montana only to interact with whites if whites are everywhere in Montana? It's not in their reality and we are not presenting them with the truth in these publications. Understand that tourists coming to the islands are expecting (and willing) to interact with black natives.

I clearly understand the mitigation of risks here. I clearly know the plight many employers face trying to get natives to adapt when interacting with different cultures. So what do we do, lie in our ads on who the tourists will be interacting with? Let me just say this. I know we all can be funny. Some of us can only see from our own point of view. Some of us are difficult and stubborn. I get that. But there are a body of Virgin Islanders who create a superior experience for our traveling guests. We are all not homogeneous, so why not display the truth when we market abroad in Destinations Magazine? We are in an age where we must understand to accept others as they are and move on. Homosexuals are proudly coming out of the affinity orientation closets. On the other hand, politicians are regularly being exposed on who they are. It only becomes a shocking story when they hide these truths to begin with. President Barack Obama has more blemishes in his personal lifestyle from his younger years than many politicians. His difference is, he didn't hide it and he was accepted!

Who will be the first ones to break this trend? I would love to see it. Those companies will be the ones that get my admiration and support for being trailblazers and transparent agencies.

We have to stop doing stuff in the dark while creating a false glittery public illusion. Give the natives a chance so they can rise to the occasion. Let's spend more money on developing our people instead of using it for pseudo public relations. It costs less money to educate people than to rehabilitate people or incarcerate them. If we want to get better travel reviews and consistently exceed the expectations of the travelers, let's be honest from the time we introduce ourselves to them.

What are we ashamed of? Are we simply just trying to get the money even if we have to be deceitful to get it? Well, there's another popular saying, "All money isn't good money." We may get the money, but lying for it can cost us in the long run, which, according to Freda, would be a bad name.

- St. Thomas native Devin Robinson is an economics professor at Oglethorpe University, a community activist, author of seven books and a columnist. Email him at devin@devinrobinson.com. His website is www.devinrobinson.com.

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