FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (9/8/09)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign
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.Juneteenth.us.com
www.JuneteenthJazz.com
www.ChristianJazz.net
Bishop Dave Thomas, Chairman
National Juneteenth Armed Services Commission
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
907-575-8506
e-mail: bishopthomas9@yahoo.com
web site: www.JuneteenthAlaskaALCAN.com
Juneteenth Alaska Alcan Highway Celebration
Juneteenth Honors African Americn Army
Engineers Who Built the Alcan Highway
Juneteenth Establishes "28th of October" as a Significant
Date for Celebrating African American Military Achievement
(Anchorage & Fairbanks, AK) - The Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., leader of the
Campaign to Establish Juneteenth as a National Holiday Observance, will return to Alaska to join
Bishop Dave Thomas, Alaska Representative of the
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC) to host the first annual
Juneteenth Alaska Alcan Highway Celebration,
October 28-31, 2009, in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.
The celebration will include a Juneteenth Military Honors
Awards Reception at Fort Wainwright, in Fairbanks, a
Wreath Laying Ceremony on the Alcan Highway in Delta Junction, an
Alcan Highway Lecture Series on the campus
of the University of Alaska Anchorage, an
Anchorage Juneteenth Jazz and Arts Festival and
Juneteenth Prayer Luncheon.
"The festival is dedicated to the African American army engineers who built the historic
Alcan Highway during World War
II and completed the Sikanni Chief River Bridge on
October 28, 1942," states Juneteenth festival host Bishop Dave Thomas, Founder & Pastor of
Jesus Holy Temple in
Anchorage, Alaska and Chairman of the National Juneteenth
Armed Services Commission of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation
(NJOF). "The Modern Juneteenth Movement" is working
to make the '
28th of October' a widely celebrated historic date of celebration in America like the '
19th of
June' or Juneteenth. Governor Sean Parnell and Lt.
Governor Craig Campbell will be joining us in what will certainly be the
beginning of a wonderful annual triibute to one of the greatest engineering achievements in American history."
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 32 states, including Texas, Oklahoma,
Florida, Delaware, Idaho, Alaska, Iowa, California, Wyoming, Missouri, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey,
New York, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington, Tennessee, Massachusetts, North
Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Vermont, Nebraska, Kansas and Wisconsin. In 2003, the District of Columbia passed
legislation to recognize Juneteenth as a district holiday observance. Many more states, including Utah, Alabama, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana,
and Maryland have recognized Juneteenth through state legislative resolutions and Gubernatorial Proclamations.
"Alaska became the 6th state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday observance,"
states Dino Allen, NJOF board member and historic Alaska Juneteenth leader to
successfully champion Alaska Juneteenth state holiday legislation in 2001. "The legislation requires the governor to
issue an annual Juneteenth Proclamation in our state."
Thousands of petitions have been forwarded to the White
House urging President Obama to make Juneteenth a national holiday observance and to establish a Presidential
National Juneteenth Commission. "The official
recognition of Juneteenth Independence Day and the end of enslavement by state governments and congress are very
significant steps in bringing healing to America from the legacy of enslavement," states Rev., Dr. Myers, also
the Founder and Director of the National Day of Reconciliation &
Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement and the National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service during the annual
WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance.
A Juneteenth Jazz benefit concert will also be featured at the
Anchorage Juneteenth Jazz and Arts Festival during
the celebration. There will also be a special Juneteenth Art
Exhibit featuring the paintings of internationally acclaimed visual artist and master jazz trombonist Dick Griffin
will also take place during the festival.
As the National Juneteenth Jazz Artist, minister, physician
and jazz musician, Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., performs
across the country promoting "June Is Black Music Month!" -
CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH JAZZ - Preserving Our African American Jazz
Legacy!" Founder of the National Association of Juneteenth Jazz
Presenters (NAJJP), Myers also conducts youth jazz workshops and lectures on African American jazz legacy.
The NAJJP is the sponsor of several Juneteenth Jazz Legacy
Concerts and African American Art Exhibits during
Black Music Month,
including the historic African-American jazz legacy cities of
Kansas City, MO and Omaha, NB.
For more information contact Bishop Dave Thomas at 907-575-8506, e-mail:
BishopThomas9@yahoo.com or web site:
www.JuneteenthAlaskaALCAN.com or Dr. Myers at 662-247-3364 or 662-247-1471,
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com or web site:
www.Juneteenth.us,
www.19thofJune.com or
www.JuneteenthJazz.com.
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