Hundreds of people walked Friday from Christiansted to Frederiksted, sometimes referred to as "Freedom City," in the Emancipation Day Fort to Fort Freedom Walk, remembering and reflecting on liberation and freedom.

"This walk commemorates the 1848 walk and the effort to free enslaved people," said Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, founder and organizer of the annual walk now in its eighth year. "This gives the idea of the task our ancestors took to gain freedom. It keeps fresh in our minds the significance of Emancipation Day."

Nelson was seen jogging along the highway with his dreadlocks freely flying and a goat skin thrown over his shoulder.

Emancipation Day commemorates July 3, 1848, when Gov. Peter Von Scholten declared the enslaved Africans of the Danish West Indies free. The enslaved people had marched into Frederiksted a day earlier demanding their freedom. Hence the town was referred to locally as "Freedom City" since it was the site of emancipation.

The 15-1/2 mile walk began at 5 a.m. Friday in Christiansted at Fort Christiansvaern, heading west along Queen Mary Highway to Fort Frederik.

Bob Marley’s songs of freedom softly rang out from speakers on a white flatbed truck with most of the walkers staying in close proximity to it listening to the music. The majority of the participants finished the walk around 11 a.m.

The first to reach the fort were Larry Joshua, Henry Harris and David Walter, who walked at a brisk pace finishing in 3-1/2 hours.

"This walk for freedom means a lot to me since our ancestors walked from Christiansted. This was like walking in their footsteps seeing how it felt to gain independence," said Walter, a 16-year-old student at St. Croix Educational Complex.

For some the walk had more than historical meaning — they did it for the health aspects of it too.

"The walk was motivating health-wise and historically meaningful," said Joshua. "This is my first year in the walk and I will continue to do it as long as I can to commemorate history."

Joyce Francis and Kimberly Jean Marie said they also walked for fitness and as a reminder of the past.

"This symbolic annual walk keeps the awareness going of what our ancestors went through," said Francis, as she finished the walk and sought shelter from the blazing sun at Buddhoe Park.