National Juneteenth Observance Foundation
Celebration of Freedom
The National Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC) is an association of Christian leaders dedicated to promoting racial reconciliation and healing from the legacy of slavery through the observance of Juneteenth.
MISSION STATEMENT
"To promote, support and demonstrate Biblical reconciliation and healing from
the legacy of enslavement through the observance of Juneteenth in America."
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman
Rev. Jack Gaines, D.D., Director of Reconciliation Ministry
Bishop Victor Smith, Co-Chair
Rev. William Gwynn, Secretary
Rev. Jesse Clarence Brown, Esq., Legislative Consultant
Bishop Dave Thomas, Alaska Representative
Clark Jones, Chair
NJCLC Washington Juneteenth Committee
Washington, DC
301-925-0008 301-789-7592
clarkjones88@gmail.com
(left) Sen. Hank Wilkins, IV, sponsor of SB263 and
(right) former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
"The third Saturday in June shall be known as 'Juneteenth Independence Day' to
commemorate the end of over 200 years of slavery in the United States of America
and to demonstrate racial reconciliation and healing from the legacy of slavery."
Saxophonist Darryl Dixon, center performs with Eddie Perales on
flute, right, and Alberto Plummer on trumpet, left, and other
members of the SGI Latin Jazz Band during the Juneteenth
celebration in East Orange.
(Star-Ledger photo)
Juneteenth will help nation repair racial ills that linger:
Morgan's Corner
By Earl Morgan June 21, 2011
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D.
NATIONAL DAY OF RECONCILIATION & HEALING
FROM THE LEGACY OF ENSLAVEMENT
"3rd Friday in June"
June 15, 2012
www.njclc.com www.NationalDayofReconciliation.com
Press Release
National Juneteenth Prayer Service
National Press Club - Washington, DC
National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church - Washington, DC
*** Memorial Service Program ***
Presentation of the Dr. James Cameron National Juneteenth Leadership Award
Honoring Dr. James Cameron, Founder
America's Black Holocaust Museum
What is the Black Holocaust?
What is the Middle Passage?
WORLD DAY OF RECONCILIATION & HEALING
FROM THE LEGACY OF ENSLAVEMENT
Richmond, Virginia (USA) - Liverpool, England - Benin, West Africa
3rd Annual
"August 20th Observance"
August 17-20, 2012
www.worlddayofreconciliation.com
PRESS RELEASE
Comfort Inn
3200 West Broad Street Richmond, VA
804-359-4061
Schedule of Events
RECONCILIATION STATUE
Richmond, VA
Commemorating the date the first slave ship, the White Lion, landed in Virginia at Old Point Comfort,
today's Fort Monroe, from the shores of West Africa. This occurred on the "latter end of August", 1619,
with the arrival of twenty Angolans, America's first Middle Passage.
Calvin Pearson stands near the marker commemorating the landing of the first Africans at Old Point Comfort
on Fort Monroe in Hampton in this 2009 photo.
(Joe Fudge, Daily Press file photo / August 2, 2011)
Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
TRANSATLANTIC ENSLAVEMENT FREEDOM DAYS
A celebration of Juneteenth and Caribbean-American Heritage Month
PRESS RELEASE
* Barbados *Brazil * Cuba * Haiti
* Jamaica * Trinadad * United States of America * Virgin Islands
Letter of Invitation to President Barack Obama
Getty Images Photo
Myers invites President Obama to speak at the
annual National Juneteenth Black Holocaust
"Maafa" Memorial Service in Washington, DC
White House Response to President Obama's Invitation
to Support Juneteenth
Response to President Obama's 2010 Juneteenth Statement
By Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D.
National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign
Chair Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D. is
asking Congress to enact legislation to
make Junteenth a national day of
observance in America.
As the descendent's of Americans of African descent, our ancestors were brought to America in chains. This should never be forgotten," states Dr. Myers. "Millions lost their lives during the middle passage, not to mention the thousands killed from lynching and murders before and after the civil war. One ponders as to why so little attention has been given to our own history of death and destruction in America."
History reveals that George Washington was a slave owner. Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner. Many of the founding fathers of America were slave owners. The US Capitol and the White House were built through the uncompensated labor of the ancestors of Americans of African descent during the tyranny of enslavement.
"In response, we have embraced the term "Maafa", a Kiswahili term meaning "Disaster" or "Terrible Occurrence",
to tell our own story about our enslavement and the sustained attempt to dehumanize us."
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D.
Founder & Chairman
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
"Most gatherings are decidedly upbeat, but the sobering reason for the holiday has also been part of Juneteenth's growth. Dr. Ronald Myers, the leader of a movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday, 'June 19th' should be an annual remembrance of the horrors of slavery."
New York Times, June 18, 2004
Report from
2009 WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance
Photos from 2009 WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH
Statement of Unconditional Forgiveness
Statement of Asst. United Nations Secretary General
Luc Gnacadja at the 2009 Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast
Asst. United Nations Secretary General Luc Gnacadja
at the National Press Club in Washington, DC
(6/19/09)
Del. Frank Hargrove, R-Hanover,
speaks on the floor of the House
during the session at the Capitol
in Richmond, Va., Monday.
(AP)
Boston Globe Newspaper
Va. lawmaker who said blacks should 'get over' slavery
proposes celebrating Juneteenth
Associated Press January 23, 2007
Daily Progress.com
Hargrove proposes resolution to celebrate end of slavery
The Daily Progress January 23, 2007
Proposed Virginia Juneteenth
State Holiday Observance Resolution
What is the "MAAFA"?
The MAAFA is a Kiswahili term for "Terrible Occurrence" or "Great Disaster". It refers to the Black Holocaust when millions of Africans died during the journey of captivity from the west coast of Africa to the shores of America, known as the Middle Passage. Our ancestors died in the belly of slave ships or choose death by jumping into the sea rather than live in captivity.
It is a remembrance of the thousands of African Americans lynched and murdered before and after the end of enslavement. This especially includes the Red Summer of 1919 and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, considered the worst domestic terrorist event in U.S. history.
The National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "MAAFA" Memorial Service takes place in Washington, DC, during the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement. It is the National Day of Remembrance of the Maafa and occurs each year during the week of the Juneteenth Observance in America, on the "3rd Friday in June." The 2012 Memorial Service is scheduled for Friday, June 15, 2012, 4:00pm, at Lincoln Park United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. Diane Dixon-Proctor, Pastor, 1301 North Carolina Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC. The event is part of the 13th Annual 2012 WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance. The theme of the Memorial Service is
"A Time To Heal, A Time To Pray.."
From the
Black Holocaust Society
"The Tulsa Race Riot"
"The Rosewood Massacre"
"The New Your Draft Riot"
"The New Orleans Race Riot"
"The Omaha Race Riot"
"The Chicago Race Riot"
"The Washington Race Riot"
"The East St Louis Massacre"
Jack Gaines delivered a message on "Biblical Reconciliation"
at the National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast during the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement at the nation's capitol.
Click here to purchase a copy of "My Brothers Keeper Not My Brothers Killer"
by Pastor Jack Gaines
Pastor Jack Gaines article, "Let Forgiveness Come First" was also printed in Charisma Magazine November, 2000
Essence Magazine
Congress Honors Slaves Who Built U.S. Capitol
By Cynthia Gordy June 17, 2010
President Bush peers through 'The Door of No Return' where
slaves passed through to board ships taking them abroad. (AP)
USA Today Newspaper
Bush: 'Slavery a Great Crime'
By Associated Press (AP) July 8, 2003
The remains of Colonial-era buildings, including the house that George Washington lived in when he was president, are exposed at an archaeological dig in front of the Liberty Bell Center, top right, in Philadelphia. Archaeologists have discovered a hidden passageway that was used by Washington's nine slaves. Matt Rourke, Photographer, Associated Press. MSNBC - Associated Press Slave Passage was found under Washington's home. Hidden passageway was used by George
Washington's nine slaves. Ribina Madan June 7, 2007
Washington Post
A Senate Apology For History on Lynching
Vote Condemns Past Failure to Act
By Avis Thomas-Lester June 14, 2005
James Cameron. the oldest known lynching survivor, speaking at a special press conference with members of the U.S. Senate during the week of the observance of Juneteenth, 2005.
Ninety years ago, Anthony P. Crawford, a successful black businessman, was lynched in Abbeville, South Carolina. Discover why every American should know of his life and death.
Historic Congressional Apology for Slavery
Rev., Dr. Myers seen to the right of Congressman Tony Hall (D-OH) during the historic announcement of legislation for a Congressional Apology for Slavery on "Juneteenth" 6/19/00. This was the first observance of the National Day of
Reconciliation & Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement.
Charisma Magazine - U.S. House Member Renews Call for Apology for
Slavery
by Adrienne S. Gaines September, 2000
M. Jacques Chirac, right, President of the Republic of France, is shown here with
M. John Agyekum Kufuor, left, the President of the Republic of Ghana in a 2005 meeting.
Westside Story Newspaper
France Commemorates Slavery and Its Abolition As A National Day Of Remembrance
Empire News Network September 28, 2006
African Leader Atones For the Legacy of Slavery
In 1999 Benin President Mathieu Kérékou called for a historic
gathering of spiritual leaders to atone--to Africans of the Diaspora--for the legacy
of slavery. His intention was to heal his nation of any economic and spiritual famine
caused by slavery, oppression and injustice. See the history of slavery by clicking the map below:
Orlando Ridout IV, left, a descendant of a slave auctioneer, embraces
Chris Haley, right, a descendant of Kunta Kinte's, and Kunta Kinte Foundation
official Leonard Blackshear.
(Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)
Important Articles
Charisma Magazine
The History America Chose to Forgot
by Valerie G. Lowe November, 2000
Charisma Magazine
Let Forgiveness Come First
by Jack Gaines November, 2000
Charisma Magazine
Marchers Apologize for 'African Holocaust'
by Clive Price March, 2007
Washington Post
The Roots of Reconciliation
by Christian Davenport September 30, 2004
Charisma Magazine
British Evangelist Treks Across the United States Repenting for Slavery
by Peter K. Johnson May, 2004
The Washington Times
Somber ceremony marks slavery's end
By Denise Barnes June 22, 2003
District Chronicles.com
Juneteenth, A Day of Remembrance, Celebration
By Angel Wilson