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.

The position of the non-voting delegate in the US Congress is something I've been fascinated about for many years. As a scholar I’ve channeled this fascination into research. Over the past fifteen years I’ve conducted more than 50 interviews from different people who have been in some way tied to the non-voting delegate position.   I’ve been able to sit down and interview former Guam delegates Bordallo and Underwood, former US Virgin Islands Donna Christensen, former (and now deceased) American Samoan delegate Eni Faleomavaega and current delegate from Washington D.C. Eleanor Holmes Norton. In addition, I’ve also interviewed people who have worked on territorial issues in the US federal government, including those who have worked in the Guam delegate office from Won Pat and even to current delegate San Nicolas.     I dedicated a chapter of my dissertation to discuss the strange and peculiar position of the non-voting delegate. The so-called greatest country in the world permits its