NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

For my Pacific Daily News columns over the past month, I was focusing on providing some reflections for the recent passage of Juneteenth as a national holiday in the United States. This was partially in response to some young activists and educators on Guam, hosting a special Fanachu! episode discussing the issue from a Guam perspective. There was so much more that I could have addressed in more columns and I may return to the issue of African American history in Guam or Chamorus navigating US racial hierarchies at a later date in my column. But until then, here are the columns: ************************ Juneteenth celebration connects history of CHamorus, African Americans Pacific Daily News By Michael Lujan Bevacqua  Jun 25, 2021   Last week the United States recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday. This is an important day whereby the U.S. can reflect not only the history of slavery, but the legacy of that inhuman institution and how it continues to impact African Americans today.

My position on Martin Luther King Jr. is somewhat similar to my position on Jesus Christ. I have a strong affinity for both of them in their radical dimensions, the way they challenged system of oppression in their time and proposed a powerful message of social change into something that was potentially more equitable. Both of them have of course been edited and watered down significantly in their message, to the point where both of them can be invoked in the name of so many things that they would have violently detested in their lives. Gof ya-hu si Jesus Kristo komo un zealot. Lao anggen un lahen Yu'us, hmmm, ti bali nu Guahu i mensahi-ña. Parehu yan si MLK. Gof annok gi sinangån-ña yan gi bidå-ña na zealot lokkue'. Lao atan ha' på'go, i manracist na taotao, ma u'usa i estoria-ña para u ma puni i tinailayi yan taihustisia gi på'go na tiempo.  Below is a great article that outlines the radical dimensions of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy.  ******

I am truly terrified about Donald Trump being elected President of the United States. As they say in English, all bets are off, if he wins, because he is so thin-skinned and ideologically inconsistent, anything could happen, and the worst probably will.  One thing that I can definitely give Trump credit for, is that he has created, on a regular basis, the most random stories about a presidential candidate I've ever seen. Most often, these stories are horrifying to varying degrees, they deal with him ripping people off, stoking racial hatred or just being stubborn in the face of clear facts. Alot of them have to do with the gap between who Trump presents himself to be, a super rich, generous, intelligent and good tempered person, and who he actually is on a daily basis. Here's one such article that caught my eye. *************************** No, Donald Trump Did Not Win a Medal from the NAACP Christine Wilkie Huffington Post 10/23/16 WASHINGTON — A photograph of

Hafa un bandera? Sina ta li'e' todu i tinaotao-ta rinepresesenta gi ayu na dikike' na kosa. Gi i banderan Amerikanu, sina ta li'e' i haga' Chamorro gi meggai na gera di i ma'pos na sitklo. Sina ta li'e' gi i inapa'ka i "racism" gi taimanu manmatrata hit desde ma chule' i tano'-ta gi 1898. Gi i banderan Guahan, sina ta li'e' i kuttura-ta, i guinaha-ta. Gaige guihi lokkue' patten ginnen i estoria-ta. Gof uniku i bandera-ta gi entre todu i nasion sa' ta pega i na'an i tano'-ta guihi guatu. Gof annok gi mata-na i palabra "Guahan." Sigun este sina ta alok na dichicheng hit na klasen taotao. Gof dikike' ya sen ti annok hit gi i mundo ya humuyongna ta sen fatta i na'an-ta gi i bandera-ta.  Lao para kada sinangan na gaibali este na bandera, guaha otro sumasangan na taibali este, kulot, linakse, hilachas ha'. I asunto put i banderan Confederate giya South Carolina muna'hasso yu&#