Tuesday, November 11, 2008

MLK Day 2009 Essay and Elocution Contest!

This coming January 19, 2009 marks the 3rd official commemoration of Martin Luther King Day since Governor Fitial signed the bill enacting Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an official CNMI holiday. In honor of this approaching Commonwealth-wide commemoration, the African American Cultural Preservation Committee (AACPC) is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay & Elocution Contest open to all students of the CNMI.

The theme of this year’s Essay & Elocution Competition is “What Would Martin Say?”

We’d like to request that the attached information be shared with all schools within the CNMI.

Thank you


Joe Hill
The African American Cultural Preservation Committee


Contacts:
• Mr. Samuel Joyner, Kagman, Elementary School;
• Mr. Ambrose Bennett; Kagman High School;
• Walt Goodridge; Tel.
• Mrs. Hilda Joyner; Chacha Oceanview Jr. High;

Entries may also be submitted via email to mlkcontest@welovesaipan.com,








ESSAY CONTEST: Topic: WHAT WOULD MARTIN SAY?

Barack Obama has won the 2008 election for president of the United States of America.
What do you think civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. would say? What would he say to the American people, to the world, to president-elect Obama himself? Do you have a creative way to answer that question? If so, share it with the CNMI! Submit your answer for the CNMI’s 3rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration, for prizes and prestige!

CRITERIA:
• Essay must be relevant to theme; double-spaced, typed; 12pt font
• Essay must be well-written (follow proper conventions of language, usage and grammar)
• Include Student’s Name, School, Grade Level, Teacher’s Name, and Principal’s name
• Each school is allowed to submit 3 entries per Grade Level category.
-3rd to 5th Grade: 150-250 words
-6th to 8th Grade: 250-350 words
-9th to 12th Grade: 350-500 words
PRIZES:
• One winner will be selected for each grade level.
• A prize of $100 will be awarded to the three overall winners; consolation prizes to others.
Among other prizes to be announced, winners of the contest will receive:
- Freedom Fighter Award (An MLK legacy award honoring youth as well as adults)
- Excerpts of their essay published in local media
- On-stage recognition during the MLK Day Rally & Presentation scheduled for Memorial Park
- various gift certificates, coupons & free passes donated by local businesses

SUBMISSION:
Participants are asked to inform their teachers of their intent to compete in the contest as soon as possible.
Students may enter EITHER the Essay OR the Elocution portion of the contest, but not both.
Teachers are asked to judge all entries and submit 3 finalists per grade level category.
Entries will be collected from your school or must be delivered by Monday, December 15, 2008 to:
• Mr. Samuel Joyner, Kagman, Elementary School;
• Mr. Ambrose Bennett; Kagman High School;
• Walt Goodridge;
• Mrs. Hilda Joyner; Chacha Oceanview Jr. High;

Entries may also be submitted via email to mlkcontest@welovesaipan.com





ELOCUTION CONTEST: Topic: WHAT WOULD MARTIN SAY?


Barack Obama has won the 2008 election for president of the United States of America.
What do you think civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. would say? What would he say to the American people, to the world, to president-elect Obama himself? Do you have a creative way to answer that question? CAN YOU DELIVER IT IN A MEMORIZED SPEECH LIKE MARTIN WOULD? If so, share it with the CNMI! Enter the ELOCUTION COMPETITION as part of CNMI’s 3rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration, for prizes and prestige!

CRITERIA:
• Imagine YOU are Martin Luther King Jr, and give the speech just as he might
• Appropriate gestures, confidence, feeling, enunciation, and interpretive excellence are the prime criteria for this competition.
• Maximum time: five minutes; Students are encouraged to top-end limit of allowable time.
• Each school is requested to submit 3 entries per Grade Level category.
-3rd to 5th Grade; 6th to 8th Grade; 9th to 12th Grade

SUBMISSION:
Participants are asked to inform their teachers of their intent to compete in the contest as soon as possible.
Students may enter EITHER the Essay OR the Elocution portion of the contest, but not both.
Names of entrants may be submitted via email to mlkcontest@welovesaipan.com

DEADLINE:
Schools are asked to FORM A JUDGING COMMITTEE to judge all entrants and submit the names of the 3 finalists per grade level category by Dec 15, 2008. Contest judging will be on January 10, 2009. Location to be announced. Questions may be directed to:
• Mr. Samuel Joyner, Kagman, Elementary School;
• Mr. Ambrose Bennett; Kagman High School;
• Walt Goodridge;
• Mrs. Hilda Joyner; Chacha Oceanview Jr. High;

PRIZES:
• One winner will be selected for each grade level.
• A prize of $100 will be awarded to the three overall winners; consolation prizes to others.
Among other prizes to be announced, winners of the contest will receive:
- Freedom Fighter Award (An MLK legacy award honoring youth as well as adults)
- Excerpts of their essay published in local media
- On-stage recognition during the MLK Day Rally & Presentation scheduled for Memorial Park
- various gift certificates, coupons & free passes donated by local businesses

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

John Davis Runs!


Here is a letter from John Davis who is running for the position of US Congress delegate for the CNMI.

Hello,
As you probably already know, I am running for the seat of CNMI Delegate to the U.S. Congress. However, you probably don’t know much about me. And since I am not as well known as some of the other candidates I thought I’d better start catching up in the “who I am” department.

I have been a resident of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for twenty-two years. I arrived in the CNMI in September1986 to assist in the opening of the Commonwealth Health Center. I was the CHC’s first Radiology Department Manager. If you are 21 or 22 years old and were born in the Commonwealth, I probably took the first pictures of you (using ultrasound). I was later the resident manager for FHP when it moved to its current location in the Oleai Center. I have also worked as a taxi driver, courier, fitness trainer, bartender as well as other so-called “ordinary everyday jobs.”

Until recently I was very actively involved in sports. I have competed in football, wrestling, boxing, and track. I have competed internationally in track and boxing. I represented the CNMI in bodybuilding and weightlifting. I have been a sport parachutist, and taikwondo “breaking” demonstrator, and I have skied the Alpspitz (a mountain in Germany) from top to bottom.

I retired from the U.S. Army after twenty years of service. I earned the Combat Medic’s Badge and Bronze Star with “V’ Device while serving one and a half tours with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. I have earned All-American status on two separate occasions as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Saipan Post 3457.

My children are all adults and, except for my youngest, live in the mainland United States. I raised three children here in the Commonwealth. My baby is now a sophomore at Northern Marianas College. My family ties within the Commonwealth are limited. I am not a member of any political party or political organization. I live in the CNMI because I like it here (the sun, the ocean, the beaches, the laid-back lifestyle that sometimes is laid-back a little too much). I don’t owe money or favors to anyone. I speak my mind and sometimes from my heart.

I have a Master’s degree in Education and I teach Advanced Placement Language Arts (English) and Advanced Placement Government and Politics at Marianas High school.

Two years is a very short time to claim that I am going to move the earth. So aside from my pledge to faithfully represent all of the people of the CNMI with truth, honesty, and integrity, I will also promise not to use the office to maximize my photo opportunities, not to use the office to maximize my time on the golf courses, not use the office to assault my subordinates, and not to use the office to line my own or my family’s pockets.

What I will do is:
(1) Introduce legislation for the transfer of the control of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and submerged lands surrounding the CNMI from the United States to the CNMI.
(2) Immediately introduce legislation to have an office of the Small Business Administration open in the CNMI.
(3) Immediately introduce legislation to have a Veterans Administration Hospital built in the CNMI.
(4) And, if it is still an issue, work to have green cards and/or passports granted to non-American individuals who have immediate relative status in the CNMI.

I think that getting these issues resolved will be a full time endeavor. If anyone is promising more, he is either lying, has no concept of the nature of the office, or he is a superhero.

Well, that’s me, John H. Davis, Jr. in a very small nutshell. But, at least you have an idea of who I am.

I will be happy to meet with anyone or any group to elaborate on my positions. If you are inclined to hear more, please contact Jeanne Rayphand at 235-9115, 235-5123 or 287-9807 and she will set a time and date. Thank you for your time and no matter for whom you vote, please VOTE.

John H. Davis, Jr.

Monday, June 23, 2008

How did I get here?

So far removed from the lush brown dirt of the Mississippi Delta where I dug bait worms for my grandmother. Coral sand pillowing my feet instead of the cool Mississippi soil of my great aunt's garden. So far away yet so close to home. Perhaps Saipan is the closest answer to the pondering of "What if black folks ran things." An experiment that african americans will never be able to conduct.

So....things are slow here and many folks don't know what to call people who look "black". I had to really think what I should call my self out here. How could I describe myself accurately to someone who didn't really have a concept of what "black" means. Sometimes when I said "Black" they still looked at me curiously. "Black" to a Russian, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese person really didn't mean much. So I started calling myself a "Black American" Because...afterall...Black IS Black and nothing is any cooler or more aesthetically pleasing than that. And American because God knows I can't escape it. I am uniquely American and can finally accept it.

Locals (people of island decent) would often stumble a bit when trying to say that they knew "Black" people back in the states. They'd stammer and look at me apologetically and say "I knew someone like you." The truly didn't know what to call me and didn't want to offend. It made me smile. Here I can be "Black" and also be in peace. Despite the fact that people often had no idea what to call me, they welcomed me. I not been any place on the islands here and not felt welcome. It's the familiar smell of food cooking, cold drinks and feel of Southern Hospitalty. MMMmmmm.

Mentally and physically it is as if a cage has been lifted. Racism in the states is like cholesterol. It's in you dragging you down, influencing every aspect of your well-being but you don't actually realize what it's doing. How sick it makes you. I feel it whenever I go back to visit. And am grateful every time the plane lands on saipan and that hot blast of island air hits my lungs.

Yeah...paradise is what you make it. And in some of the least likely places.

Big Footed Mississippi Girl

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Another Jamaican!


On my recent trip to Guam, I got a nice little surprise. Turns out the chief pilot of Freedom Air, a micronesian provider that flies to Guam is none other than a Jamaican! Meet Cardiff Walker, I and I new bredrin from Yaad!

--Posted by JamaicanonSaipan

Friday, June 13, 2008

An evening with MLK!

On May 7, 2008, the Northern Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities with support from the African American Cultural Preservation Committee hosted a unique event.
Bill Grimmette was invited to the island of Saipan to take us on a journey back and forwards in time. Bill does performances around the world in the character of Martin Luther King, Jr.  
Having Bill do such a performance along with the requisite audience question and answer participation, allows us to speculate and participate in discussions that might be taking place had Martin Luther King, Jr. been alive today.  
Here are a few photos from the evening's event.




Willie, Joe, Rebecca and Bill








Point....











Counter point







Bill and Anna

The African American Cultural Preservation Committee on Saipan

Mission Statement: Awareness, Education, Community

The CNMI African American Cultural Preservation Committee is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the experience and promoting the awareness of the African American community within the CNMI and the entire Pacific region. In addition to community support and scholarships, we offer educational programs, workshops and lectures on topics and issues including Indigenous Cultural issues, African American Culture and History, African Influence in the Pacific Region, and Mixed Parentage Challenges among other issues.


AWARENESS
As a vibrant community within the CNMI, our members have traditionally offered our time, talents and passion to the growth, development and prosperity of the CNMI. Through programs, press-releases and our website, we shall continue to increase the overall community's awareness of our presence, history and contributions.

EDUCATION
We shall ensure that communities within and visitors to these islands are aware of the unique African and African American contribution to world and regional history. We shall promote the cultural legacy of people and cultures of distinction. Our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration March and keynote speech is an example of this promotion. Our community's support and persistence (along with local legislators) was instrumental in the passage of legislation to recognize MLK Day as a commonwealth-wide holiday.

COMMUNITY
The CNMI African American Cultural Preservation Committee is a cohesive community of and for people and families of African descent here on the Mariana Islands (Saipan, Tinian, Rota). Our welcoming committee offers information and a wealth of experience and perspectives to new arrivals to the CNMI to assist in any needed adjustments and transition. We shall promote fellowship and camaraderie among all who have chosen to live here in the CNMI. We shall meet regularly, organize events that allow members to interact, improve life and to get to know one another personally. We welcome all regardless of nationality, culture or background.

Why "Blacks" on Saipan?


When we say "Blacks" (with a capital "B") on Saipan, we're not referring to a color so much as a diverse cultural identity. Because of the unique history of Blacks throughout the world as a result of forced and voluntary migration from the African continent, many Blacks now identify culturally and ethnically with countries and regions other than the motherland. As a result of the identity-robbing effects of slavery, many Blacks can no longer trace their origins to any specific country in Africa. As a result, when people within the transplanted Black community worldwide refer to themselves as "Black," it is with the tacit understanding that it is more than just a color, but a nod to an often-times lost African cultural origin, diluted as it may be through years of migration and mixing. 

Therefore, when you see someone who appears "Black" on Saipan, they may well be from one of any number of countries on the African continent--Ghana, Kenya--the Caribbean-- Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados--South America (Brazil) or the US mainland.  

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Welcome!


Welcome to the unofficial website of the African American Cultural Preservation Committee on the island of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ("CNMI"), USA.

The first thing we should do is help you answer what is likely your first question: Where is Saipan?

Saipan:


Located in the western pacific, a short flight from Guam and 3 hours from Japan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a popular tourist destination rich in history, culture and natural resources. Saipan, just 5 miles wide by 12 miles long, is the largest and most populated of the 14 islands making up an archipelago that stretches 400 miles (north to south) along the edge of the Marianas Trench.