Voice of Revolution

Uphold the Fighting Spirit of Juneteenth!

Juneteenth marks the heroic victory over slavery and celebrates the undaunted spirit of the slaves who rebelled against great odds until victory was won. Juneteenth 2005 is taking place at a time of great difficulty and great opportunity for the people. Cities, home to the large majority of AfricanAmericans and workers generally, are facing destruction as governments at all level claim there is "no money" while turning over more and more of the public treasury to the war machine and the Wall Street vultures. The war budget and debt payments are skyrocketing as governments keep payig the rich and impose their brutal anti-social offensive against the people.

Anger with the existing politicians is deep and bitter as they continually reject the demands of the people to Freeze the Debt! and increase funding for social programs and to end the occupation of Iraq and stop the funding of the war machine. Demands are growing for impeachment of President George W. Bush, for the resignation of state and local offocials, for the recall of all elected officials who in no way represent the will of the people.

Instead of submitting, the politicians insult and assault the public with more taxes, more cuts, more debt and more war. The situation appears insurmountable with all the power in the hands of a government hell bent on war abroad and repression at home. Yet it is also filled with opportunity. Opportunity for fundamental change that favors the people, opportunity for empowerment, opportunity for forging unity by defending the rights of all.

Juneteenth is the celebration of the mighty victory over slavery, achieved by the slaves themselves together with all those of that time who defended rights and demanded progress. It is the very embodiment of resistance in the face of tremendous odds, of seizing the opportunity to achieve change and persisting with determination until it is won. Let everyone celebrate Juneteenth this year by embracing this spirit of resistance and joining in the battles of today, large and small, to win progress and advance the cause of humanity.

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Banks Targeted As Slaveowners

Reparations Now!

June 18, 2005: Juneteenth celebration in Buffalo, N.Y.

Two of the nation’s largest banks recently were forced to make public apologies for their direct role in slavery. As a result of fierce struggle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia all have laws that require companies that do business with the cities to reveal any past connection to slavery. As a result of demands by Chicago, in recent weeks both the Charlotte-based Wachovia Bank, the nation’s fourth-largest bank, and the New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the nation’s second-largest bank, publicly admitted that they owned and sold thousands of slaves during the 18th and 19th centuries. Both issued apologies. However, it remains unclear if Chicago will now grant a multi-million dollar contract to Wachovia.

Activists brought out that the emptiness of the apologies can be seen in the fact that these two giants, like dozens of other major banks and monopolies, refuse to make any reparations to African Americans and African peoples for their crimes of genocide, including mass murder of millions of Africans. They were insulted by the Morgan Chase offer to establish a $5 million scholarship fund.

Speaking to the recent bank disclosures and apologies, H. Khalifa, founder of the National Black Reparations Alliance, said, “Where there’s injustice there’s a way to rectify injustice.” The Alliance is part of a broad coalition NDOBA, demanding full reparations for the more than two hundred years of slavery in the U.S. North Carolina Islamic minister William Muhammad also let it be known that the people “are coming. We’re coming to Wachovia, we’re coming to Nations Bank (now Bank of America),” coming to demand that wrongs be righted and that this requires not only an apology but reparations and elimination of the genocide of today.

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association said his group has been picketing and lobbying Wachovia and other banking giants for eight years, urging them to investigate and acknowledge their historical responsibility as slavery profiteers and take a stand for reparations. They are specifically demanding economic and educational funds as part of eliminating today’s discrimination.

Other banks and companies targeted as slave owners and profiteers include: R.J Reynolds, Aetna Inc., New York Life, AIG, CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, WestPoint Stevens, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, Fleet Boston Financial Group, and many others.

There were over four million enslaved Africans in the U.S. at the end of the Civil War in 1865, after more than 200 years of slavery. Slavery was sanctioned by the Constitution and only outlawed after the Civil War with the 13 th Amendment in 1865.

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National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign

President Bush Continues to Decline Participation in Washington Juneteenth

June 18, 2005: Juneteenth celebration in Buffalo, N.Y.

The following is a June 9, 2005, Press Release from Reverend Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign, the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), and the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC):

(Washington, DC) — President Bush, the former Governor of Texas, where Juneteenth has been observed as a paid state holiday since 1980, has again declined participation in the annual Washington Juneteenth National Holiday Observance. Juneteenth leaders continue to be perplexed by the lack of personal public acknowledgement, speaking and comment on Juneteenth, considered America’s second Independence Day, by President Bush.

“Congress recognized the significance of the “19th of June” in 1997 when a historic resolution was passed recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day in America,” states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), host of the annual National Juneteenth Celebration at the nation’s capitol. “We do not know why President Bush continues to decline our invitations or take time to personally acknowledge the significance of Juneteenth Independence Day in America during his five years in the nation’s highest office.”

Juneteenth, or the “19th of June”, recognizes June 19, 1865, in Galveston, TX, when Union General Gordon Granger announced freedom for all slaves in the Southwest. This was the last major vestige of slavery in the United States following the end of the Civil War. This occurred more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Upon the reading of General Order #3 by General Granger, the former slaves celebrated jubilantly, establishing America’s second Independence Day Celebration and the oldest African-American holiday observance.

Juneteenth is now recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Delaware, Idaho, Alaska, Iowa, California, Wyoming, Missouri, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Arkansas and Kentucky. In 2003, the District of Columbia passed legislation to recognize Juneteenth as a district holiday observance. Many more states, including Oregon, South Dakota, Mississippi, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Montana, Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia and Colorado have recognized Juneteenth through state legislative resolutions and Gubernatorial Proclamations.

Thousands of petitions have been forwarded to the White House urging President Bush to make Juneteenth a National Holiday Observance and to establish a National Juneteenth Commission. President Bush has ignored these petitions and has not personally responded to letters from Juneteenth leaders.

“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 slavery,” states Dr. Myers. “It is important for President Bush to recognize and honor their sacrifice and contributions in building key institutions in America.”

Congressional resolution number 160 has recently been introduced by Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL), with a host of co-sponsors, to recognize the significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and requests that President Bush issue a Presidential Proclamation acknowledging the same.

“The official recognition of Juneteenth Independence Day and the end of slavery by state governments and congress are very significant steps in bringing healing to America from the legacy of slavery,” states Rev., Dr. Myers, also Chairman of the National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC), sponsors of the 6th Annual National Day of Reconciliation and Healing From the Legacy of Slavery and the 4th Annual National Juneteenth Black Holocaust “MAAFA” Memorial Service in Washington, DC. “As the descendents of Americans of African descent, our ancestors were brought to America in chains. This should never be forgotten.”

Rev. Myers hopes that the reintroduction of the Native American Apology Resolution in the Senate will result in the acknowledgement that America needs healing from the legacy of atrocities against Native Americans as well as African-Americans.

“Introduced twice, the last time on Juneteenth Independence Day, the “19th of June”, 2000, by former Congressman Tony Hall (D-OH), we never did get an apology for slavery passed by Congress,” states Dr. Myers. “This again demonstrates the need for America to be healed from the legacy of slavery and the annual observance of Juneteenth in America provides the nation with an opportune time to acknowledge that need.”

“We continue to encourage President Bush to participate in the annual Washington Juneteenth National Holiday Observance,” states Rev. Myers. “We pray that the president will take every opportunity to lead the nation toward healing from the legacy of slavery through participation in the annual day of reconciliation and slavery memorial service. A Juneteenth Presidential Commission could provide advice on how the annual observance of Juneteenth Independence Day can promote racial reconciliation and bring all Americans together through the celebration of our common bond of freedom.”

For information on the Washington Juneteenth 2005 National Holiday Observance and the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign call Dr. Myers at 202-331-8864, 662-247-1471, e-mail: myersfound@aol.com, web sites: www.Juneteenth.us; www.19thofJune.com and www.njclc.com.

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Juneteenth Actions

National Reparations Petition

- The Ndaba Movement National Reparations Petition Campaign -

To: Congress of the United States

A petition in support of black people’s demand for reparations from the United States government and other private and public institutions in America.

Whereas, we the undersigned people of African ancestry understand that various oppressed peoples have been paid reparations. Indigenous groups such as the Choctaw, Lakota, and Lambuth people have received reparations (and rightly so) for treaty violations that occurred before the emancipation of African Americans. Japanese Americans have received reparations for their inhumane incarceration in internment camps during WWII, as well as the Jews who received reparations after the Nuremberg trials.

Whereas, slavery and the slave trade are recognized by international human rights organizations, e.g., the United Nations, as “crimes against humanity” and as such there are no statutes of limitations against nations who are to pay for these crimes.

Whereas, we the undersigned understand that the demand for reparations for Black people in America is a demand for justice for years of injustice and inhumane treatment and not a request for a handout. Elected leaders and those seeking public office must recognize the elementary truth that slavery and historical patterns of discrimination, based on race, are the direct cause of continued increases in unemployment, substandard education, higher mortality, higher rates of incarceration, etc. for African Americans. Similarly rooted in slavery is the engrained psychosis of racism among White Americans.

We, above all others in America, have sacrificed the most for this country. It is clear at this hour in history that the major issue for Black people in the upcoming presidential election is restitution for a long standing debt of the United States Government owed to Black people in America since the end of the Civil War.

In 1898, one of the many petitions to Congress in support of slave pension (reparations) legislation stated, “Whereas, It is a precedent established by patriots of this country to relieve its distressed citizens, both on land and sea, and millions of our deceased people, besides those who still survive, worked as slaves for the development of this country, and Whereas, We believe it is just and right to grant the ex-slaves a pension”

It is in this spirit, as descendants of slavery in America, that we sign this petition in support of our just demand for reparations.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The NDABA Movement

The NDABA Movement National Reparations Petition Campaign: A Petition in Support of Black People’s Demand for Reparations from the United States Government and other private and public institutions in America Petition to Congress of the United States was created by The National Reparations Petition Campaign is a project of The NDABA Movement. The NDABA Movement is a Network of Organizations, Researchers, Scholars, Faith Based Institutions, and Activists representing the broad spectrum of the Reparations Movement in America. This network has been convening regularly over the last year to collectively intensify the Reparations Demand for Black People in America. The following is a partial listing of the growing NDABA Movement Participants: Nation of Islam, National Black United Front / NBUF, National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America / N`COBRA, New African Peoples Organization, Republic of New Africa, The New Black Panther Party, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Shrine of the Black Madonna, Jericho Movement, African and African Americans for Enslavement Reparations, Global African Congress, Africans United for Sanity Now, and Sehah Youth Inc. and written by Ndaba Movement.

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National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign

State by State Recognition

The following states recognize Juneteenth as a State Holiday or State Holiday Observance through a Bill or Joint Resolution, with some states also having state directors for Juneteenth:

Texas – passed 1980
Florida – passed 1991
Oklahoma – passed 1994
Delaware – passed 2000
Idaho – passed 2001, State Director
Alaska – passed 2001, State Director
Iowa – passed 2002, State Director
California – passed 2002
Wyoming – passed 2003, State Director
Missouri – passed 2003
Connecticut – passed 2003
Illinois – passed 2003, State Director
Louisiana – passed 2003, State Director
New Jersey – passed 2004
New York – passed 2004
Arkansas – passed 2005, State Director
Kentucky – passed 2005, State Director

The District of Columbia recognizes Juneteenth through a special City Council Resolution passed in 2003

The following states recognize Juneteenth through Senate or House Legislative Resolution or Special Day recognition:

Colorado – passed 2004
Michigan – passed 2003
Kentucky – passed 2001
Oregon – passed 2001
Pennsylvania – passed 2001
Vermont – passed 2001, State Director
Washington – passed 2001, State Director
Wisconsin – passed 2001
North Carolina – passed 1999
Mississippi – passed 1997

The following states have legislators who have either introduced or plan to introduce State Juneteenth Holiday Bills or Resolutions acknowledging Juneteenth or who have committed to do so during the present or next state legislative sessions: Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.

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For Your Information

Definitions of Reparation and Genocide

Reparation

A reconciliation, the action of restoring to a proper state; restoration or renewal (of a thing or part); upholding, maintenance; the action of making amends for a wrong done; amends, compensation; repair of an injury; compensation for war damage owed by the aggressor; the act of restoring to a sound or unimpaired condition; the process by which this is accomplished; the result attained; remedy of wrong; to mend; to heal or cure; to renew, renovate (some thing or part); to restore to a fresh or sound condition by making up in some way for previous loss, waste, decay, or exhaustion. (Oxford English Dictionary)

UN Definition of Genocide

From the 1948 Convention on the -Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Article 2: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article 3: The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d ) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.

Article 4: Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private -individuals.