Opinions: A civil right

Freedom is a right that most of us have to been able to enjoy from the moment we took our first breath. And most of us now know the price we have to pay for that freedom, with the countless news reports about our troops sacrificing their lives so we can enjoy the freedom we all relish in this time of uncertainty. It is also good to know that, after one whole year apart, our brave servicemen from here in the Marianas will be reunited with their loved ones to continue their lives and enjoy the freedom they fought for half a world away. I take pride along with the rest of Mother Commonwealth by saying to each and every one of you, “Welcome home.”

But the main reason why I am writing about freedom is because this week Americans and every freedom-loving citizen of the world is honoring the memory of a man who battled through numerous injustices to his people and others in his country, including losing his life in the process, which led the way for relations among different races to be improved for the generations to come. That person was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Although we do not celebrate his birthday as a holiday here in the CNMI, this man still has a special place in the hearts of every person touched by his message of peace and equality whether they born while he was alive or not.

A few days ago, a director in the Governor’s Office came up on the news, saying that in his opinion, the celebration of MLK Day doesn’t really need to be honored here. This statement is not just a slap in the face to our African American community here, but to all of us who honor our liberty as well. All around the Commonwealth, you will run into a lot of people who are familiar with the work of Martin Luther King. A lot of them are mostly our youth, our manhoben. As an employee and proud product of the Public School System, I have been eyewitness to many of my colleagues, including my Principal, encouraging our children to learn the importance of Dr. King. They follow his philosophy in the PeaceBuilders and Virtues programs taught in schools. Elementary children also learn about Dr. King in their Social Studies books. High school students study him in their U.S. history books. When I was a student we were learning about MLK even then. I first learned about Dr. King when I was in Kindergarten. For someone to make those comments, especially someone who is a former school principal, is highly irresponsible.

This same person also mentioned that what Dr. King was fighting for is not the same to the struggles we face here. Keep in mind that 60 years ago our people had to build everything from scratch after surviving World War II. In that brutal and bloody conflict, the Americans freed us from the shackles of oppression and injustice forced on us by the Japanese. During that time, our people weren’t even allowed to speak their own native tongue. This struggle is similar to what African-Americans in the ’50s and mid-’60s faced when they weren’t even given the opportunity to eat in the same restaurant as a white person or even use the same restroom as a white person. It was a proverbial civil war. Dr. King and countless Americans who joined his cause helped put that war to a peaceful end.

To the person I am addressing this to, civil rights are important not just to Americans in the U.S. but to all Americans, including those in the territories such as the CNMI. You should know this. You were alive when that speech Dr. King gave some 40 years ago was first said. Choosing to be a member of the U.S. political family, that was not just an inalienable right but a civil right. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: those are civil rights. Opting to become a U.S. commonwealth so we could govern ourselves and show to the world that we are not just a Third World banana territory, that’s a civil right. Washing your clothes in the same laundromat that a Carolinian lady or a Filipina houseworker washes their clothes in peace, that’s a civil right. And me telling you that you have no right to say that MLK Day should not be celebrated here, that is my civil right! It is my freedom of speech protected by the U.S. and CNMI Constitutions and it is because of the work of not just our political forefathers, the framers of the Constitution but also because of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!

Anyone who feels this way spits in the face of not just Dr. King but also in the faces of Rosa Parks who started the civil rights movement, President Kennedy who supported the Civil Rights Act, President Lincoln who freed the slaves, President Reagan who granted us citizenship and the rights that come with being a United States citizen. This also spits in the face of former Gov. Pete P. Tenorio who proclaimed Martin Luther King Day in the CNMI a holiday some 20 years ago and yes, this type of attitude even spits in the faces of every single soldier who’s died on the frontline in Iraq, Afghanistan and other war zones for the freedom and civil rights of not just the people of the countries they’re fighting in but for the freedom of all mankind. If this is how you feel, then you need to have your attitude adjusted.

I am not writing this to attack, slander or insult you. If you take offense to this, I apologize. This is just to let you know that Dr. King’s struggle for equality is the same when you look at the rich history of Mother Commonwealth. Our people went through a lengthy process to get their full rights granted them, from the colonial administrations we were under to the time of the Trust Territory. Your boss, our Governor, as well as yourself ran under the Covenant Party during the last election. Key word: Covenant. The Covenant is the document that gave us our political independence to govern ourselves as a commonwealth in political union with the United States of America. This is the same covenant your boss, our Governor swore to uphold last week. Voting to adopt the covenant was a choice our people made for themselves. A civil right.

Maybe you don’t feel MLK Day is that important to you, but I want you to imagine if a Carolinian person came up to you and started saying racial slurs to you all because you were Chamorro. Sad to say but this goes on in our society today. Your comments on MLK Day only add fuel to a fire that should not even be burning. This right here shows why MLK Day should be honored here on this day, holiday or not. I also strongly advise you to look around and see the CNMI today. We are a melting pot of different cultures. We have Chamorros, Carolinians, Filipinos, Asians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Russians, Europeans and yes we even have Caucasians and African-Americans who call the CNMI their home. If it was not for Dr. King, we would not have the tolerance to welcome these different colors of the rainbow into our island paradise. Dr. King strengthened that concept of racial tolerance for not just his generation but for the generations to follow. So I hope this has given you some perspective on why Martin Luther King Day should be considered important in the Commonwealth.

Maybe Dr. King did not say he was fighting for the residents of the Marianas‚ civil rights, but the words he said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial resonated not just through all the fifty states on that historic day in August 40 years ago but they continue to resonate through every state, country, kingdom and territory of the world. His message was simple: live in peace. A message carried on by such visionaries as Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, John Lennon and the late great Bob Marley. A message important to preach in these times of turmoil.

Let us join with those who celebrate Dr. King in making sure that freedom rings not just through the islands of the Marianas but through all the nations of the world. So when we are finally free at last from our mortal bodies, we can rest assured that we can enter the pearly gates knowing we did something for the good of not just our fellow neighbor but for all mankind.

L.J. Castro
Fina Sisu, Saipan