National Juneteenth Observance Foundation
Celebration of Freedom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (3/5/11)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
662-247-3364 662-247-1471
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com
web sites: www.NationalJuneteenth.com
www.njclc.com
National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement
National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service
National Day of the Remembrance of the Maafa
National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast
(Washington, DC) - The National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement will take place on Friday, June 17, 2011, the "3rd Friday in June", including the annual National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast at the National Press Club and the National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service, at Lincoln Park United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. Diane Dixon-Proctor, Pastor, in the nation's capitol, Washington, DC. A very special message on "Racial Healing" will be given by Alice Patterson, author of the recently released book "Bridging the Racial and Political Divide". Special comments will be shared by Jack Gaines, author of the book on Biblical reconciliation, "My Brother's Keeper, Not My Brother's Killer" and Director of Reconciliation Ministry for the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC).
"As the descendents of Americans of African descent, our ancestors were brought to America in chains. This should never be forgotten," states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC), sponsors of the annual WASHINGTON JUNTEENTH National Holiday Observance. "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," continues Dr. Myers.
Beginning in the year 2000, during the annual WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance, the "3rd Friday in June" has now been set aside as the date for the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement. It is also known as the National Day of the Remembrance of the Maafa.
The day was established in recognition of former Congressman Tony Hall's efforts to pass a congressional apology for slavery. Dr. Myers, who worked closely with Congressman Hall, learned first hand that America's slave legacy was still a very contemptuous issue for many Americans, who would rather ignore history then embrace the truth.
"Introduced twice by Congressman Hall, the last time on Juneteenth Independence Day, the "19th of June", 2000, we just recently, in July of 2008, received an apology for slavery by congress." states Dr. Myers. "This again demonstrates the need for America to be healed from the legacy of enslavement."
In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation for an Apology For Slavery and Jim Crow sponsored by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN). Similiar apology for slavery legislation that was passed in the U.S. Senate sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) in 2009, but failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Myers hopes that legislation will be passed, with both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate concurring in 2011.
In January of 2008, New Jersey passed apology for slavery legislation. In 2007, four sates passed similiar legislation, including Virginia, Alabama, Maryland and North Carolina. 37 states, most recently Georgia this year, officially recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or state holiday observance observance. Dr. Myers, who was formerly appointed National Advisory Chairman of America's Black Holocaust Museum by museum's founder, the late Dr. James Cameron, a lynching survivor, was encouraged by the Senate apology for lynching during the week of Juneteenth in 2005.
"Dr. Cameron taught me the importance of forgiveness, patience and reconciliation by his remarkable life," states Dr. Myers. "It lead to a Senate apology for lynching. Congress continues to demonstrate sensitivity to issues surrounding the legacy of enslavement in America and we pray they will continue to do so."
Dr. Myers has also been encouraged by the actions of French President M. Jacques Chirac who addressed the people of France during a 2006 National Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of Slavery and Its Abolition. An International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was established by the United Nations in 2002 and is now observed annually on the "23rd of August".
"There was an act passed by the U.S. Congress, signed by President Bush in 2008, to establish a Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This was in recognition of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1808," states Dr. Myers. "All this was inspired by the work of Venita Maria Benitez, Founder of Global Slavery Remembrance Day in 2006. She also organized the first '23rd of August' celebration of the 'Revolt and Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade' in 2008, in Dallas, Texas."
As the leader of the "Modern Juneteenth Movement" in America, Dr. Myers knows that more can be done to encourage reconciliation and healing during the observance of Juneteenth. Calling for the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to establish Juneteenth Independence Day as a National Holiday Observance, like Flag Day or Patriot Day, Dr. Myers continues to invite President Barack Obama, America's first African American president, to support the annual WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance and the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement.
Despite President Obama's lack of support, and the refusal of the U.S. Postal Service to issue a postage stamp to commemorate Juneteenth after over eleven years of a petition drive sending thousands of signatures to the White House and the USPS, Dr. Myers hopes that new efforts will promote even a greater recognition of the need for reconciliation and healing from the legacy of enslavement.
"We now observe the annual World Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement on the '3rd Saturday In August', August 20, 2011, in Richmond, VA." states Dr. Myers. "This commemorates 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."
"Please join us in pray and make the '3rd Friday in June' a monumental day of remembrance and healing of our Maafa in America," states Dr. Myers. "We must continue to seek God in prayer for the healing of the nation from the legacy of enslavement."
For information on the National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast, the National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service, the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, the WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance and the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign, contact Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D. at 662-247-3364, 662-247-1471, or e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com or web sites: www.NationalJuneteenth.com, www.njclc.com, and www.Juneteenth.us.
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