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In his State of the Territory Address, Governor DeJongh stated that we Virgin Islanders have "always fought to establish the right and reality that all men and women are created equal, must be treated equally, and must be provided an opportunity to achieve their individual potential."  Can he possibly be saying that the (unincorporated) Territorial Status of the Virgin Islands gives equality to Virgin Islanders?  Does denying voting rights to Virgin Islanders give us equal treatment?  Are we created equally if an American born and/or living in the Virgin Islands has less rights than an American born and/or living on the mainland?  What could Governor DeJongh be saying?

In its Friend of the Court brief in Ballentine vs. the United States of America, the Allard K. Lowenstein International Law Clinc at Yale University indicated that the status of the Virgin Islands is illegal.  In continuing the fight for the equality of Virgin Islanders in the “American family,” does Governor DeJongh intend on asserting the importance of establishing a constitution and making a status determination?  If he’s not going to press these issues, can we really have equality?

Governor DeJongh spoke of remembering the words of Dr. King’s so-called “I Have a Dream” speech.  But, does he really remember that speech?  Or, does he remember what people have popularized in that speech?

You can watch the full speech here:

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.