National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (3/23/13)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
662-392-2016 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 in America
National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast
(Washington, DC) - As a part of the
WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance, the
National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement will take place on
Tuesday, the "18th of June", 2013. Also known as the
National Day of the Remembrance of the Maafa in
America, the theme for the annual day, "A Time to Heal, A Time to Pray", will be the focus of the
National Juneteenth Black Holocaust Maafa Memorial Service, at
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church,
Rev. Dr. Diane Dixon-Proctor,
Pastor, 1301 North Carolina Ave., N.E., in the nation's capitol, Washington, DC, beginning at 7:00pm.
The following day, on the
"19th of June", Juneteenth, the National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast at the
National Press Club, beginning at 8:30am, and the
National Juneteenth Reconciliation Wreath Laying Ceremony, at the
Abraham Lincoln Emancipation Statue in Lincoln Park, across the street from
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church, beginning at 5:00pm, continue with emphasis on the need for healing
in America from the scars of enslavement.
A very special message on will be shared by Pastor 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), during the prayer breakfast.
"As the descendants of Americans of African descent, our ancestors were brought to America in chains. This should never
be forgotten," states
Rev. Dr. 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 and Thomas Jefferson were slave owners. However, not all
of the founding fathers were slave owners. John Adams, the second president of the United States, did not own any slaves.
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 a
letter to President Barack Obama, Dr. Myers urges him to recognize the Americans of African descent who built the
White House while hosting a Juneteenth celebration this year.
"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
"18th of June" has now been
set aside as the date for the
National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, also known as the
National Day of the Remembrance of the Maafa in America.
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). Similar
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 the future.
In January of 2008, New Jersey passed apology for slavery legislation. In 2007, four sates passed similar legislation,
including Virginia, Alabama, Maryland and North Carolina.
42 states, most recently Rhode Island, officially
recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or state holiday observance. Dr. Myers, who was appointed National
Advisory Chairman of
America's Black Holocaust Museum by the 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 current lack of support, and the recent 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
World Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement with a prayer service at the historic
'1st African Landing Marker' at the Fort Monroe National Monument, on the '20th of August', during
1st African Landing Day in Hampton, 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 '20th of August', 1619, with the arrival of twenty
Angolans, America's first
Middle Passage."
"Please join us in prayer and make the '18th of 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 662-392-2016, 662-247-1471, or e-mail:
JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com or web sites:
njclc.com,
NationalJuneteenth.com and
Juneteenth.us.
top
