PSS: Black Heritage Day instead of MLK Day

The Board of Education has backed the idea of setting aside a one-day legal holiday to honor the achievements of the late Martin Luther King Jr. but they want to call the holiday “Black Heritage Day” to also recognize other African Americans who also made significant contributions to the United States.

During its monthly meeting last week at the Aqua Resort Club, the Board of Education adopted the position that the CNMI should enact Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday but should name it “Black Heritage Day.”

Education associate commissioner David M. Borja said the change in name would recognize not only King but also other African Americans.

This comes in the wake of the introduction of two bills—one at the House and another at the Senate—that seeks the same thing: to amend the legal holidays in the CNMI by setting aside a Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

House Bill 14-296 wants to add the Martin Luther King Jr. Day to the current number of legal holidays in the CNMI. The Senate bill, on the other hand, seeks to maintain the current number of legal holidays—14—by combining the Commonwealth Day and Covenant Day holidays into one.

Borja said the BOE would endorse the House bill instead of Senate’s version because the former does not remove Commonwealth Day, which he said is one of the significant holidays in the CNMI.

He said BOE board member Herman T. Guerrero, who was a Constitutional Convention delegate and is a celebrated scholar in the CNMI, deems the Senate bill irrelevant. According to Borja. Guerrero told everyone in the meeting that the Senate bill should not be considered at all.

Borja further explained that endorsing Black Heritage Day instead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day would be broader since the CNMI used to have Washington Day and Lincoln Day.

“We used to have those holidays which were combined to become President’s Day,” he said.

The board meeting also tackled another holiday, Columbus Day, which the PSS finds insignificant in the CNMI, according to Borja.

Borja said the board took issue with the Columbus Day holiday because the explorer did not discover this part of the world.

He said a re-evaluation of the commemoration of Columbus Day should be considered because it was the ancient Chamorros who discovered the islands.

Borja said the BOE would rather call the holiday Cultural Day, Commonwealth Cultural Day, or Cultural Explorer Day. He said the board could recommend one of these holiday names. (Marconi Calindas)