Neil Weare

Neil Weare BA ’02 is founder and president of Equally American, a nonprofit dedicated to equality for all Americans. In December 2019, his organization obtained a significant victory when a federal judge ruled that denizens of the territory of American Samoa are U.S. citizens. Weare, attorney for the plaintiffs, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling but stated it was “the first step in what will likely be several more steps.” Unlike people born in the territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas, those born in American Samoa, a territory of the U.S. since 1900, are not granted citizenship at birth. “It doesn’t feel very good when the federal government says you’re American but not quite the same as other Americans,” said Weare to CNN.