Friday, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands spoke up in the midst of voting for the Speaker of the House to ask an important question: Why were the names of the elected representatives of over 4 million people in U.S. territories and DC not called on to vote for the Leader of their chamber?

After being dismissed by the Parliamentarian she spoke up and put the United States and the world - once again - on notice:

“This body and this nation has a territories and a colonies problem”

Later that day, Congresswoman Plaskett expounded about her message on MSNBC, reminding viewers that while people in U.S. territories serve in the Armed Forces at higher rates than any state they have no say in who their Commander-in-Chief is.

Plaskett then went right to the root of the issue - calling out the racist legal framework that denies people in the territories their rights to democracy and self-determination:

“In the cases now called the “Insular Cases” - by the same justice who wrote Plessy v. Ferguson  - he stated that the people of the territories are savage aliens who cannot understand the Anglo-Saxon principles of law.”

Right to Democracy has worked closely with Congresswoman Plaskett and other Members of Congress in a bi-partisan manner to call out the undemocratic colonial rule of U.S. territories and demand an end to the Insular Cases and the racist legal framework they established. Last year our work together resulted in the U.S. Department of Justice formally condemning the reasoning and logic of the Insular Cases as a matter of official government policy.

“From Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett to conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, more and more federal officials are now recognizing the situation faced by people in U.S. territories for what it is: colonialism. Colonialism must never be normalized, and we applaud Stacey Plaskett and other leaders who have the courage to tell it like it is,” said Adi Martínez-Román, Co-Director of Right to Democracy. 

“Speaker Johnson talked a lot about the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in accepting the mantle of House Speaker. As the United States looks back at its roots, it is important when leaders like Congresswoman Plaskett recognize that colonial rule is not just a 1776 problem, it is a now problem,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy. 

As the United States and the world face new threats to democracy, we encourage people to think about what a right to democracy means to them.

What does a right to democracy mean to you? Take a quick minute and let us know here.