1015: P.R. In Newark [Reel 3]; Images/Imagenes

And that my fellow Americans my dear friends. What a great community. Earlier. This morning I was reminded by Miss Traynor from your wrote. That we have been conducting this. Ceremony. On the lawn of City Hall each and every year since 1957. I have had the honor and privilege of participating in every year since 1965. I am again honored and feel deeply privileged. To be dissipating in this ceremony again. And as per usual the raising of the Puerto Rican flag. Which never it has raised on this mess. Will be lowered. And then. Displayed. On the smaller mass. On the right hand side of City Hall. In keeping with federal

rules and regulations affecting. The Flying of. Flags with the American flag. Similar. Saturday when we also welcome. Ruby and. Citizens. Who live. With us. And they too. Are. Celebrating our entire week. Relative to. The culture the custom. That they have brought to this country. It is always. A nice opportunity for me. To extend a welcome. Any and all ethnic groups that participate in such ceremonies. And to commend them. And to thank them. For adding something to our urban city. That makes our city a little better place. In which to go. To live.

To work. To worship. And to play. In keeping with the spirit. Of this ceremony. I would like to agree with the mayor's proclamation. Which reads whereas the Puerto Rican community can want to reconsider some of this continue to make immeasurable contributions to the social cultural and economic life of the Garden State through the incorporation of their rich spiritual and cultural heritage and their dedication to the principles and responsibilities of good citizens. And whereas through acts of the United States Congress the people of Puerto Rico have attained political sovereignty as an associated Free State of these United States and exercise the rights and privileges of American citizenship. And whereas it is indeed appropriate

that all New Jerseyans commemorate the continuing contributions to this city by the Puerto Rican peoples through civic celebration and formal recognition of these rights and privileges. And whereas the Senate and the General Assembly of the jersey every so often declare July 25th of each year as one every Can day in the state of New Jersey in official recognition of the social economic and political contributions of the Puerto Rican community. Now their pariah Thomas J Dunn the mayor of the city of Elizabeth New Jersey do hereby proclaim July 25th through the thirty first 1983 as a Puerto Rican week Given under my hand this twenty fifth day of July nineteen hundred and eighty three and it is now an honor for me to again sign this proclamation and to return it to history

friend. You know what.

You know about this kind of ironic right. I didn't expect any hitch in the ceremony whatsoever I've been doing it since 1965 and I intend doing it for many more years to come. And the Puerto Rican community. Since I first became mayor have shown me a great deal of respect and I respect them and this whole memo thing was lately. Taken out of context. The spirit was distorted and it has been poisoned. No question about it is causing a great deal of controversy some of it good some of it not so good. And I just hope that with a sensible time that people will realize that there was nothing malicious meant. And only some self-serving people have distorted it to make it into some

kind of a political issue. Oh I think that. I think that businesses. I think that other governmental agencies will start reflecting on have we. Been showing discourteous. Treatment. Perhaps they could get treatment it could be our conduct that could be misunderstood that we've been perhaps overdoing. The use of foreign languages while people are coming into our shops or into our banks or into our public buildings. And I don't think you'll find too many abuses by I think that might be might be a good thing. I noticed in the. Front page of The New York Ledger yesterday where the commissioner of education. Is asking a more in-depth look. Be taken or given to the subject the overall subject the bilingual

education. Which I have always supported. We have. The city of Elizabeth one of the finest bilingual programs ever in any public school system and we had it long before it became mandatory. By action of the state legislature. When that was mandated I highlighted some very very serious. What I consider to be parts of the bill at that time that could cause trouble for towns and cities that were being mandated to invoke bilingual education so what Commissioner Cooper meant if I read the paper is suggesting is that boards of education find out if the bilingual program that taxpayers are paying heavily for is really working. There are avenues that and I really don't want to get into this except that there are areas in bilingual education that are causing some

problems. And the public school system play as I understand it could spend the entire 12 years in bilingual classes. And there are some people in this that who feel that bilingual education should perhaps be restricted to about three know no more than four years in any type of thing I think. Yeah that's the only point that I'm making is that this memo. For the good or for the bad is going to cause a lot of constructive discussion as well as a lot of. Troublesome and bothersome The special effects any kind of crime. I don't see any deputy chief judge in my Rebel as the only police officer I see you back here right. Well they don't look like cops to me if they are. They are. The one on the left I think is Butterick if I don't know where the other guy. I don't know either one of those two gentlemen.

I was expecting. Maybe somebody else might have been but I was wrong. These couple. They don't have any credibility. I didn't say that I was misunderstood. The memo deliberately distorted by self serving people who are trying to. Build a political will see themselves I think the press TV and the printing press a lot of liberty with the memo was an awful lot of the way out of that particular group. Well the memo of anybody on the standing with can't possibly find any language in that memo that reflects on any particular language around any

particular group would have to be deliberately distorted or.