Hundreds of demonstrators gathered yesterday in Washington DC and Puerto Rico to celebrate the 96th anniversary of the granting of U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico and to demand a new “full and equal” citizenship status based on the results of the November 6th plebiscite.
At the rally in D.C., a letter was signed to be sent to President Obama. That letter explained:
On this date, 96 years ago, the bill granting U.S. citizenship to individuals born in Puerto Rico was signed into law. Today, we – political leaders, veterans, students and ordinary citizens from Puerto Rico and other areas of the country – have gathered outside the White House, a symbol of American democracy, to commemorate this anniversary. It is a bittersweet occasion, the cause for both celebration and sorrow. The people of Puerto Rico cherish their U.S. citizenship, but this citizenship is second-class. Despite the countless contributions they have made to this nation in times of peace and war, residents of Puerto Rico still lack the most basic rights: they cannot vote for the leaders who make their national laws and are treated unequally under those laws.
Read the full text of the letter here.
