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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (6/3/09) Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC) 662-247-1471 662-247-3364 e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com web sites: www.19thofJune.com www.Juneteenth.us www.njclc.com
Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riot
National Day of Reconciliation & Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement Still No Apology From ABC News Concerning Tulsa Race Riot (Tulsa, OK) - May 31st and June 1st mark the anniversary of one of the worst domestic terrorist acts in modern American history. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, where 300 and some estimate over 3,000, African Americans were violently killed and thousands displaced from their homes by fellow white Americans, continues to receive no mention in the national media. The anniversary of the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in New York, on 9/11, has been memorialized by the national observance of Patriot Day. The American tragedy of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, where 168 people were killed, continues to receive wide media attention. This cannot be said of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. ABC News has yet to acknowledge the erroneous reporting of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing as the worst domestic terrorist act in U.S. history, ignoring the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. "We still have not received an apology from ABC News concerning our formal complaint about gross false reporting concerning domestic terrorism in 2005," states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D. Founder & Chairman, of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign. No acknowledgment by President Obama. No public acknowledgment by Congressional leaders. No news story on CNN. No coverage by FOX News. No discussion on MSNBC. No mention by the Governor of Oklahoma. "Just like Juneteenth, the "19th of June", America's 2nd Independence Day, America's dark history of domestic terrorism through the lynching and murder of thousands of Americans of African descent should never be forgotten," states Rev., Dr. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC), sponsors of the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, which takes place annually on the, "3rd Friday in June", during the week of the observance of Juneteenth in America. "During the our annual National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service, which takes place during the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, we will have some of the names of victims of lynching and racial acts of domestic terrorism read aloud," states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., also Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), host of the 2009 WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance, June 17-21, 2009, in the nation's capitol. "America needs healing from the legacy of enslavement which includes acts of racial violence and murder. It should not be ignored, but embraced with honesty and a sincere desire for racial healing and reconciliation." "MAAFA" (pronounced MAH-AH-FAH) is a Kiswahili word that means great calamity, catastrophe, tragedy or disaster. It is a term describing African Americans own unique holocaust and tragic loss of life in American history, including the Middle Passage where millions of Africans died on slave ships on the journey from the west coast of Africa to the Americas. Rev., Dr. Myers, who has was formerly appointed National Advisory Chairman of America's Black Holocaust Museum by the late museum's founder, Dr. James Cameron, a lynching survivor, was encouraged by the Senate apology for lynching during the week of Juneteenth in 2005. "We will also acknowledge the historic legislative efforts made by former Congressman Tony Hall (D-OH) to gain a congressional apology for slavery, during our first annual year 2000, "19th of June", WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance. This was the event that began our annual National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement." states Rev., Dr. Myers. "The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 should be embraced by all Americans as a part of history that demonstrates how far we have come and yet need to go to bring closure to decades of racial violence from the legacy of enslavement." The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation concerning an official Apology for Slavery and Jim Crow in 2008, sponsored by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN). Rev., Dr. Myers hopes to see the U.S. Senate pass similiar legislation during the week of the observance of Juneteenth in Washington, DC in 2009. As a part of the 2009 National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, a special message on "Biblical Reconcialition" will be given by Pastor Jack Gaines, Director of Reconciliation Ministry for the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC) and author of the book, "My Brother's Keeper, Not My Brother's Killer", during the National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast, at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, beginning at 8:30am, on Friday, the "19th of June", 2009. The National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service is scheduled to take place also on Friday, the "19th of June", 2009, at Lincoln Park United Methodist Church, Rev., Dr. Harold D. Lewis, Sr., Pastor, 1301 N. Carolina Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC, beginning at 11:30am. President Obama has been invited to address those in attendance. Similar "Maafa" memorial services have been held as a part of Juneteenth observances across the country. "We humbly request all Americans of consciousness join us in the remembrance of the thousands Americans who have been victims of racial violence in America," states Rev., Dr. Myers. "We hope that President Obama will personally acknowledge the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 as a remembrance of the "Maafa", as has been done for the loss of life and tragedy of 9/11 and acknowledge the significance of the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, on Friday, the '19th of June', 2009." For information on the National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast, National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service, the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing from the Legacy of Enslavement, the 2009 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.Juneteenth.us, www.19thofJune.com and www.njclc.com. For information on Pastor Jack Gaines and and his new book, "My Brother's Keeper, Not My Brother's Killer", go to the web site: www.hispath.us. |