Pacific Island Times February 2020 Vol 4 No. 2 | Page 5

Brief Chat
Neil Weare
Equality for all Americans
By Raquel Bagnol
W
here is Guam?” was trend-
ing on Google search in
August 2017 when North
Korea was threatening to nuke the
island. Many Americans then learned
about Guam for the first time. The
small island drew the world’s attention,
and those who didn’t know already
have since learned that it is U.S. terri-
tory. The devastation left by hurricanes
Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands also educated
the world about the political situation
of these territories. “It’s sad that these
unfortunate things have to happen first.
It’s not something that one would wish
for, but we were able to take advantage
of the attention to make people aware
that these territories exist, and elevate
the issue of disenfranchisement and the
unequal benefits in the territories,” said
Neil Weare, founder and president of
Equally American.
on the territories and not getting a lot of
positive reactions, I thought it was time
to start our own nonprofit organization
focusing on issues the residents of the
U.S. territories — including Guam,
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana
Islands, American Samoa and the U.S.
Virgin Islands — are facing,” said
Weare, who grew up on Guam and is
now a resident of Washington, D.C.
Weare founded Equally American in
2013. “We have come long way since
then as a result of our advocacy out-
reach about the challenges being faced
in the territories,” he said.
Weare, born and raised in Santa
Rita, attended Oceanview High School
in Agat. He credits his U.S. history
teachers, the late Ms. Lizama-James
and Rosalina Bretania, with opening
his eyes to U.S. history and govern-
ment. “I read about the importance
of voting representation in Congress,
democratic institutions and principles
and then not having those same princi-
ples applied to the lives of the people
living on Guam and the territories,”
Weare said.
People from insular areas are no
strangers to the blank stares they get
when Guam and the U.S. territories
come up in conversation. “I use that as
an opportunity to educate people and
take it as a teaching moment, rather
than getting upset about it,” said Weare,
a civil rights attorney now teaching a
Law on Territories course at Yale Law
School.
Aside from their lack of historical
and geographical awareness, many
Americans are also unaware of the
political predicament of people from
U.S. territories, who are considered
second-class Americans and shut out of
the national presidential election. Ad-
vocating for equality and voting rights
for the 4 million residents on Guam
and other U.S. territories is not an easy
path, but Weare is determined to make
things right. After realizing that the
issues and rights of the people in the
territories are being ignored by other
national sovereign rights organizations,
Weare figured it was time to make a
move.
“After a lot of talking with these
different groups about focusing more
When he turned 18, Weare was re-
quired to register with the U.S. Service
System, which meant he could be
drafted into the military while at the
same time would be unable to vote for
the commander-in-chief. “That kind of
distinction where you have the obliga-
tion with the U.S. citizenship, but do
not have the full privileges and benefits
that come with it, was a reminder of the
status that Guam and its residents have
with its U.S. political family,” Weare
said.
Two of his classmates who served
in the U.S. Army and so many others
from Guam paid the ultimate sacrifice
to defend democracy while at the same
time their families back home were
not able to fully enjoy that democracy
themselves.
Getting the rest of America to care
about the residents in the U.S. territo-
ries is but one of the challenges that the
advocacy faces. “Related to that is the
challenge of financial support for the
work that we do. A lot of our advoca-
cy has been done on volunteer, or pro
bono, basis,” he said.
Nonprofit groups work with lawyers
in the territories and some top U.S.
law firms who donate their time to
move the advocacy forward. Weare is
assisted by these law firms in the fight
for American citizenship for American
Samoans. His group is developing a
new federal voting rights lawsuit fo-
cused on expanding the right to vote in
the U.S. territories and reaching out for
potential plaintiffs for the case. “We’re
looking for current residents of Guam
and other U.S. territories who used to
live in Hawaii, California and Florida,
to reach out to us,” Weare said.
At Yale, two law students — Kyla
Eastling and James Campbell, who
both also have ties to Guam — pe-
titioned the school to offer a course
about the territories. “The school
reached out to me, and I couldn’t say
no. I am really excited to teach the
course and engage the students in some
of the advocacies that we’re doing to
advance the equality and sovereign
rights in the territories,” Weare said.
At least 40 students had signed up for
25 slots before the start of the semester
last month. “We had a full group and
most of the students didn’t have ties
to the U.S. territories,” Weare said.
“Getting people with no ties to the U.S.
territories is the tipping point that we
need.”
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