The dream and the CNMI

Editor’s Note: The following is the text of a speech delivered by Teacher Representative Ambrose Bennett at the American Memorial Park on Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The connections between the CNMI and Dr. King need to be made clear, with the CNMI being the only place in America where Dr. King’s birthday is not celebrated. I felt this topic was the most appropriate and the most needed. So the question is, how did Dr. King and his dream affect the CNMI? Well, first and foremost about Dr. King is the fact that his dream was for all mankind, especially in America. Dr. King recognized that the issue of equality extended far beyond the whites and blacks. It just happened to be primarily black soldiers fighting the battles of the Civil rights movement for equality in America but the war for equality and justice in America was fought for all people of color and that war is still going on throughout the world among the different races.

Dr. King had a dream to end all racism and to force our government to live up to its creed that, indeed, “All men are created equal.” It was a dream about people that were black, white, red, yellow and brown. It was a dream that showed this array of people living and enjoying life on an equal basis and in harmony. It was a dream that didn’t stop at the Pacific coastline of the mainland or in Hawaii but a dream that has now reached the ends of the earth. It was a dream that made no distinctions between black and white, Jew and gentile, Chamorro and Filipino.

But to really understand the connections and how important Dr. King was for the CNMI and mankind, we must look at how the CNMI and even the world would be without a Dr. King and his dream. Without a Dr. King, whites would remain superior to all other races in America, placing the Chamorros and Carolinians on the same level with blacks. Without a Dr. King there is no civil rights movement and, without the civil rights movement, there is no 1964 Civil Rights Act and no equality in America. Without a Dr. King, the concept of human rights would be irrelevant throughout the world today. Without a Dr. King, all people of color (Chamorros and Carolinians included) would still be faced with racism and discrimination throughout America and even the world. Without a Dr. King, the many Chamorros and Carolinians on the mainland would not be enjoying the respect, the nice jobs and the nice homes in Oregon, California, Texas, Nevada and the list of states go on. Without a Dr. King, the Chamorros and Carolinians would very likely still be second-class citizens in the Marianas. Without a Dr. King, all the representatives of the CNMI government would get very little, if any, respect in Washington. Without a Dr. King and his dream, the Commonwealth might not be controlling its borders and it might not even be a Commonwealth. Without a Dr. King and his dream, I’m sure we can see it wouldn’t look good for the Commonwealth at all. But if you are still in doubt about Dr. King’s importance to the Chamorros and Carolinians, just ask any local person who lived in the mainland before and during the civil rights movement and they will confirm [that] they were treated like blacks, too!

But we must thank God Almighty for giving us Dr. King and for allowing his dream to manifest it self, even in the CNMI. We must be thankful the dream did reach the Marianas because Dr. King has indeed affected the CNMI. I don’t have to look any further than myself to find proof that the dream has affected the CNMI as a black man who has been given the privilege and honor of teaching hundreds of CNMI students, which would have never happened if there had not been a Dr. King. I also know there are many, if not the majority of people in the CNMI, who appreciate Dr. King and realize how important [he] was to the Chamorros, the Carolinians and to all people in the CNMI. No individual citizen, no state, no territory and no commonwealth of our nation can deny Dr. King’s contributions to all of America and the world because his work was authenticated and certified by a world organization and world leaders when [he] was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the entire world.

But never in my wildest dreams did it dawn on me that when I was marching with Dr. King as a young man, I would one day be on the other side of the world almost 50 years later still fighting to tear down the walls of inequality in the CNMI. I’m still fighting to tear down the wall that separates locals from mainlanders and being called an “outsider” in my own country, while there are those who are placing stones on the wall by promoting the election of only local officials. I’m still fighting to tear down the wall of inequality that denies a fellow citizen from the mainland the right to have their own home while the opposition promotes equal rights for adopted Third World nationals while refusing equality to their fellow American citizens and promoting social imperialism. I’m still fighting to tear down the wall of inequality between our teachers and the rest of America’s teachers who have bargaining rights and permanent contracts, while the oppositions wants to promote no-guarantee two-year contracts and easy termination.

I’m still fighting and so are many others because the dream is clearly not over and it is still being manifested even today. I’m sure all of you here today can recognize yourself in the dream of Dr. King—just look around you and you will see that the people in this room represent that array of people that Dr. King dreamed about.

But his dream doesn’t come to an end until we have exterminated all the injustices created by racism and inequality in America and the world. We have come a long way to being free of racism and we still have a [long] way to go before we can all join hands and quote with assurance Dr. King’s 1963 “I have a Dream” speech: “of the day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, (and even locals and mainlanders) can say we are free at last free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last.”

I would like us to pause for a moment of silence to recognize Dr. King and our soldiers who are fighting a life-and-death struggle for the dream to become a reality for the people of Iraq—thank you. I owe a special thanks to my wife, my family, and the people of the CNMI for supporting my efforts to keep Dr. King’s dream alive in the CNMI. I also want to thank the African American Cultural Preservation Inc. for sponsoring this event and all of you for coming here today to recognize and commemorate the life and accomplishments of Dr. King. I would like for all of you to give yourself a hand for doing your part in keeping hope and the dream of Dr. King alive and well in the Commonwealth.

Thank You.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Teacher Representative
Kagman High School