SPECIAL EVENTS

NEWS YOU CAN USE Katrina Browne   ---“Traces of the Trade” on PBS (See preview on UnityFirst.com TV)--- Traces of the Trade, which has its national broadcast premiere on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 on PBS (Check local listings), is a unique and disturbing journey of discovery into the history and “living consequences” of one of the nation’s most shameful episodes — slavery. In this bicentennial year of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade, one might think the tragedy of African slavery in the Americas has been exhaustively told. Katrina Browne thought the same, until she discovered that her slave-trading ancestors from Rhode Island were not an aberration. Rather, they were just the most prominent actors in the North’s vast complicity in slavery, buried in myths of Northern innocence. Browne — a direct descendant of Mark Anthony DeWolf, the first slaver in the family — took the unusual step of writing to 200 descendants, inviting them to journey with her from Rhode Island to Ghana to Cuba and back, recapitulating the Triangle Trade that made the DeWolfs the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Nine relatives signed up. Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North is Browne’s spellbinding account of the journey that resulted. As the film recounts, the DeWolf name has been honored over the generations in the family’s hometown of Bristol, R.I., and on the national stage. Family members have been prominent citizens: professors, writers, legislators, philanthropists, Episcopal priests and bishops. To see the preview of this program, go to UnityFirst.com and click on the video option at the top of the page. News beat.....   Rev. Ronald V. Myers Ralph Everett Barack Obama   Business World Index ---Juneteenth, June 19, a celebration of freedom--- Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), and host of the 2008 WASHINGTON JUNETEENTH National Holiday Observance, June 17-21, 2008, in the nation's capitol, says "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." As shared on the official site, Juneteenth is described as follows: “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.” Myers also reports that 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, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington, Tennessee, Massachusetts, North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina and Vermont. 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, Wisconsin and Maryland have recognized Juneteenth through annual state legislative resolutions, Gubernatorial Proclamations and current state holiday observance legislation. ---Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies on Barack Obama--- The following is an excerpt from a statement by Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: “As the Democratic primary season comes to a close, this is an historic moment in our nation's history and the journey of African Americans to the highest reaches of political and civic leadership. One hundred and forty years after ratification of the 14th Amendment gave citizenship rights to former slaves, an African American now stands before us as the presumptive nominee of a major political party. The United States Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, has earned the support of tens of millions of his fellow citizens. This support transcends any barriers posed by race, class, ethnicity, religion, creed or gender. Senator Obama's historic achievement begins a new page and represents the dawning of a new era in our nation's march toward a more perfect union. We celebrate and honor not only what he has done, but what Americans of all races have done - and that is to affirm our shared and abiding faith in the dream of equality for all people.” ---The economy and its impact on Black professionals--- Here is an excerpt from a statement shared by the National Black MBA Association on the impact of the slow economy on Black professionals: “Concern is building among African-American professionals about how the downward shift in the economy will affect them. Statistics prove they have good reason to be scared. For the Black community, the outcomes of the 2001 recession are still fresh. That downturn demonstrated that neither educational achievement nor work history could shield career professionals from massive job cuts. When the ax fell, a lot of those who got cut had attained master's degrees. Some of them were the highly sought-after superstars who had been plucked from the Black talent pool. But after losing their jobs, many struggled for months and even years to recapture their previous salaries and career status ... and some never did. Job losses --49,000 in May according to the recent Labor Department jobs report -- are disheartening because employment statistics have shown that African-American professionals are more severely impacted than other racial and ethnic groups, who tend to bounce back quicker, and at higher salary levels. Current job losses, combined with the disproportionate effect of the foreclosure crisis, is a recipe for long-term despair in the Black community. So how do African-Americans prepare for economic hard times in a way that doesn't place individuals, families and the overall community on indefinite life support? One answer is entrepreneurship. We invite African-Americans to explore the notion of striking out on their own at the inaugural session of our Entrepreneurship Institute, which will be held in September during our 30th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.” ---The State of Black Philadelphia--- On Monday, June 16, 2008, Majority Leader Marion Tasco will convene the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on the findings and recommendations of the Urban League of Philadelphia's report, The State of Black Philadelphia (SOBP) and has further authorized the Committee to seek advice and recommendations on how Philadelphia can level the economic playing field for all citizens. According to a release shared by the Urban League of Philadelphia, the overall Philadelphia Equality Index is calculated at 0.72 as Blacks are only 72% as well off as their White counterparts in the areas of economics, education, health, civic engagement and social justice. The SOBP report provides compelling research and data about the persistent disparities that exist between Black and White Philadelphians in the five areas of economics, health, education, civic engagement and social justice. The State of Black Philadelphia report can be purchased by contacting the Urban League at 215-985-3220 or info@urbanleaguephila.org. ---National Black Arts Festival 20th Anniversary--- The 20th Anniversary of the National Black Arts Festival will be a birthday celebration where the audience receives the gifts. Taking place in metro Atlanta over a ten day period beginning July 18, 2008, the highly acclaimed festival will take fans on an awe inspiring journey through visual arts, music, film, dance, theatre, literary, spoken word and the humanities. Highlights of the Festival include appearances and performances by Gladys Knight, Wynton Marsalis and his trio, Alice Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Dr. Cornell West, Charles S. Dutton, Judith Jamison, Urban Bush Women, Ron K. Brown/EVIDENCE, and more. The Official NBAF Artist Market will be moving to its new home at the Georgia World Congress Center. The International Vendor Marketplace and World Music Festival featuring Hugh Masekela, Roy Ayers, Toots and the Maytals, Los Hombres Calientes, Julie Dexter, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, among many others will take place during the final weekend of the festival at Centennial Olympic Park.