July 13, 2018

Movimiento Ñin Negrón

Apartado 32

Naranjito, Puerto Rico, 00719

Mr. Derrick Johnston

President and CEO

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215

“And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: «We want to be free.»

‘I’ve been to the mountain top’., Martin Luther King.

Greetings from Puerto Rico and all our members and organization,  Movimiento Ñin Negrón.  We are a community-local-based organization committed to advance g the decolonization of Puerto Rico and achieving its National Independence.

We recognize the historical contributions of National Association for the Advancement of the People of Color to the cause of justice and the civil rights in the USA, confronting the institution of racism, The NAACP is and has been a pillar of the struggle for transformation and liberation of people of color from the chains of  discrimination, racism and institutional violence,  against all minority communities in general and against African Americans specifically.  We, the Movimiento respect and honor your organization legacy in defense of the most sacred principles of justice and the elimination of oppression in the USA.

In light of your historical work against all kind of injustice in the United States, we are dismayed to read that Ricardo Roselló Nevarez will be a keynote speaker in your National Conference next week at Texas.  The “governor” of the unincorporated territory, and colony has been a consistent defender of the colonial situation of Puerto Rico.  This individual represents a political group that has promoted  the lie of  the Puerto Rico’s  self governing status under the “Commonwealth”, known in Spanish as Estado Libre Asociado (ELA).  Governor Roselló, like many of the politicians that promote statehood for Puerto Rico, wants to project the colonial status of our nation as a “domestic” issue of the USA.   This is not the case.  In 1898 Puerto Rico was invaded militarily force by the United States.  For 120 Puerto Rico’s sovereignty has been held by Congress violating International Law.  Colonialism defined by the United Nations, the International community and International Law states clearly that colonialism is a Crime against Humanity. It is a violation of the Human Rights of the people submitted to colonialism. Colonialism and those that enforce it can subject their perpetrators to be judged in International Courts.  The USA government actions and decisions has been clear in stating that Puerto Rico is a colony, that is subject to the plenary powers of the Congress under the Territory Clause of the USA Constitution.   Colonialism is a system sustained and implemented by exerting political, economic and social violence against a country.   Examples are: the force migration out of our nation of half of the Puerto Rican population; the economic blockade exerted by the USA congress impeding the full economic development of Puerto Rico, a devolvement that will benefit our people; the presence and use of military-police violence against all Puerto Ricans in general and against the defenders of independence of  our nation, reflected in the presence of political prisoners, and the presence of ICE, FBI and others military-police-judicial institutions.

We have to be very clear Puerto Rico is a Nation, with its own territory, language, culture and customs.  It is distinct and different from the United States and any other country.  Puerto Rico’s problems is colonialism, we are not a minority of the United States, we are not a civil rights issue, we are not an internal affair of your country, we are not American citizens living in Puerto Rico, we are puertorriqueños who have been under colonial rule for 120 years now.  The solution to our colonial problem will come from us and the International Community.  From Resolution 1514(XV) of the United Nations which states clearly the path for resolving our colonial condition.

Letting Roselló speaks at your National conference, lying to your membership, trying to project the Puerto Rico colonial situation as a “civil rights” issue and not as what it really is as colonialism, a Crime against Humanity, is a disservice and disrespect to the honorable history of struggle of the NAACP.

We respectfully request that Mr. Roselló be dis-invited to participate in your National conference or at least equal time is given to those presenting the truth about the Puerto Rico’s colonial situation.  We do make this request in name of justice and the decolonization of Puerto Rico.  We trust that your decision will echo your long standing commitment for the truth and justice and we really trust believe that your decision will echo the words quoted by Martin Luther King in his speech Beyond Vietnam where he stated quoting James Russell Lowell:

“Once to every man and nation comes a moment do decide, in the strife of truth and Falsehood, for the good or evil side; some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or blight, and the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light. Though the cause of evil prosper, yet ‘tis truth alone is strong  Though her portions be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.”

Respectfully submitted and thank you for your attention,

Pedro J. Cruz Ayala

Portavoz Movimiento Ñin Negrón

Naranjito Puerto Rico.