World Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (8/13/12)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP)
662-392-2016 662-247-1471
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com
web sites: www.NationalJuneteenth.com
www.WorldDayofReconciliation.com
Third Annual 2012
World Day of Reconciliation & Healing from the Legacy of Enslavement
"20th of August", 1619 to be Commemorated
in honor of First Africans Who Landed in America
By Project 1619
2012 World Reconciliation Expo Sponsored By
My Brother's Keeper Not My Brother's Killer Foundation
Virginia Juneteenth Jazz & Heritage Reconciliation & Healing Concert
at the American Theatre in Hampton, VA
(Hampton & Richmond, VA) - The Third Annual
World Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement will take place
August 17-20, 2012, in Hampton & Richmond, Virginia. The
2012 World Reconciliation Expo, sponsored by the
My Brother's Keeper, Not My Brother's Killer Foundation will also take place during the weekend.
The events are part of the
2nd Annual African Landing Commeroration Day
sponsored by
Project 1619, Inc.
The 2012 "20th of August" Reconciliation and Healing Prayer
Service will take place at 12:00noon, at the
historic marker where the first Africans landed in America, on August 20, 1619, in Fort Monroe. The Rev. Ronald
V. Myers, Sr., M.D., national leader of the
"Modern Juneteenth Movement" in America, will be encouraging people from around the world to pray for
healing from the deep human and emotional scars of enslavement.
"Our annual gathering commemorates the day the first slave ship, the
White Lion, landed in Virginia at
Old Point Comfort,
today's Fort Monroe," states Rev. Dr. Myers, Founder & Chairman of the
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC).
"From the shores of West Africa came twenty Angolans, during the 'latter end of August', 1619, completing
America's first
middle passage."
"As the descendants of Americans of African descent, our ancestors were brought to America in chains. This should never be
forgotten," states Rev. 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 and the African Diaspora."
A tour of the
Slave Trail Walk and the
Reconciliation Statue, with locations in Richmond, Virginia, Liverpool, England and Benin, West Africa,
will take place on Friday, August 17, 2012. The statues are part of
the Reconciliation Triangle Project, linking Europe, America and Africa.
During the unveiling service of the Richmond, VA Reconciliation Statue, Ambassador Segbe Cyrille Oguin of Benin told
how in
1999 President Kerekou had launched a program of reconciliation between Africa, Europe and America by apologizing
for his country’s role in selling fellow Africans. Dr. Myers knows that prayer will be the most essential part of keeping
the vision and work of reconciliation a potent force for healing in America and around the globe.
Dr. Myers, the
National Juneteenth Jazz Artist, Founder & Chairman of the
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP) and the
Fellowship of Creative Christian Jazz Musicians (FCCJM), will be performing a
Virginia Juneteenth Jazz & Heritage Reconciliation & Healing Concert, at the
American Theatre, in Hampton, VA. The concert is a fund raiser for the Project 1619, Inc. First Africans
Reconciliation Monument Fund and is part of the
International Juneteenth Jazz Concert Series. Richmond, Virginia
natives and legendary jazz greats
Lonnie Liston Smith and
Donald Smith, will also be honored during the performance.
Also performing will be master jazz bassist
Herman Burnry and acclaimed jazz psalmist and saxophonist
Todd Ledbetter.
In 2007, Dr. Myers worked with Virginia Del. Frank Hargrove (R-Hanover), who said
blacks should "get over" slavery, creating
a highly contentious racial issue, to propose legislation celebrating Juneteenth as a step toward reconciliation,
creating needed civility with state law makers before dealing with Virginia's historic
Apology For Slavery
legislation.
"Now I'm traveling to Virginia, where the first slave ship in America landed, to pray for reconciliation and healing for
the African Diaspora and the entire world from the legacy of enslavement," states Rev. Dr. Myers. "Prayer will
continue to be the main focus of our efforts."
Dr. Myers, who is the former National Advisory Chairman of
America's Black Holocaust
Museum, appointed 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 led 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 was also 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.
"Please join us in prayer on the '20th of August' this year and every year following," states Dr. Myers.
"We must continue to seek God in
prayer for the healing of the nation and the world from the legacy of enslavement."
For information on the World Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the
Legacy of Enslavement, contact Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D. at 662-392-2016, 662-247-1471, or e-mail:
JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com or web sites:
www.WorldDayofReconciliation.com and
www.NationalJuneteenth.com.
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