US Overseas Territories: Millions of American Citizens Living in Poverty and Denied Participatory Rights in their Government

Where would you guess these photographs were taken? In a developing country maybe, that doesn’t have the resources to feed its people?

These are photographs of daily life in America - specifically, of Americans living in one of the country’s five overseas territories: Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

Overall, 12% of Americans live below the poverty line. But in America’s Virgin Islands? That figure is 22%. In Guam? 23%. In Puerto Rico? 44%. In the Northern Mariana Islands, that figure is 52%. And in American Samoa, 58% of all people live in poverty - a higher rate of poverty than Mexico, and Somalia.

Yet, these territories are part of the United States of America - the nation with the highest GDP, the largest amount of money, on earth - and the 8th largest amount of money when divided by its population.

So why do Americans in these overseas territories live in poverty as extreme as the poorest countries on earth? Because the American government continues to deny them statehood - which means among other things that their people have no voting rights or voting representation in the government that owns them.

In the modern world, all people should have equal rights to participation and representation in the countries that administer their lands…or this is what happens. You’ll remember that the idea of territories being owned by a nation, but its people not having the rights or voice of citizens in that nation - is exactly the grave injustice that American colonists risked and gave their lives to fight. It is overcoming this very injustice that we Americans celebrate every Independence Day.

How ironic that now we are imposing that same gross injustice on 3.6 million Americans, an overwhelming percentage living in poverty, in our five overseas territories that are still not granted the right of statehood, of equal citizenship and rights alongside all other Americans.

Why? There is only one reason. Puerto Rico is 99% Hispanic or Hispanic mixed. The US Virgin Islands is 76% Black. Guam is 82% Pacific Islanders or Asians. The Northern Mariana Islands are 85% Pacific Islanders or Asians. And American Samoa is 89% native Samoans.

To grant these territories statehood would be giving equal rights and representation - voting rights, and voting (and not just observing) representatives in congress and electors in the electoral college, to Americans…that are not white. There is no other reason.

Even the 672,000 people living in Washington DC, our nation’s capitol, are not permitted voting representatives or senators in congress to represent their wishes among the nation’s lawmakers, because they also do not belong to a state - but since a 1961 amendment their people have at least been granted the right to vote and they have been granted voting electors in the electoral college. The millions of Americans living in our overseas territories however, were never even granted this partial right.

America, the nation founded on the right of colonists to have equal representation with their fellow citizens - is now fighting to keep the people in its territories or colonies, from having equal representation with their fellow citizens. Equal representation that would mean more awareness of their plight to the American people, and the American government being pushed to invest in these territories’ infrastructure, jobs, education and welfare. Yes they would be paying an income tax - but at least they would have an income.

Raise awareness of this fact. Tell your representatives in congress that the 3.6 million Americans living in our overseas territories deserve equal rights - statehood - now.