Mary Thomas (b. 1848 in Antigua, Antigua-and-Barbuda – d. 1905 in Christiansted, Virgin Islands) was a black slave who, along with two other women, led an uprising called the “Fireburn” in the Danish colonies (St Croix) in 1878. Because of her leading role in the riot, she became called as Queen Mary by other rebellions. In 1882, Mary Thomas was transferred to Copenhagen and placed at the Women’s Prison, Christianshavn. However, in 1887 she was sent back to Christiansted, St. Croix where she served the rest of her sentence. In 2018, the artist team La Vaughn Belle and Jeannette Ehlers created the 7-meters high sculpture monument called “I am Queen Mary” as a commemoration of the resistance of the Danish colonial impact in the Caribbean. It is also the Denmark’s first public monument dedicated to a black woman.
