FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (04/30/11)
Contact: Deborah A. Evans
Nevada Director, National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign
e-mail: MystFaith1@aol.com
702-878-5277
(Las Vegas, NV) - To the astonishment and the pleasant surprise of the National Juneteenth Holiday Chairman, Reverend Ronald V. Myers, Sr. M.D. , Nevada will not be the 38th state to recognize Juneteenth as a day of observance. That honor fell on the State of Maine, thanks to the action of State Representative Denise Harlow, who was able to get Governor Paul LePage to sign the Maine Juneteenth legislation before Nevada's Governor Brian Sandoval.
"After sending out a press release, I received notice that Nevada is not number 38. Technically speaking, we have to wait until Governor Sandoval signs the Nevada Juneteenth legislation, perhaps sometime this week, before it becomes law,"
states Rev. Myers.
Maine joins 37, soon to be 38 states, Georgia. Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Delaware, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, California, Wyoming, Illinois, Missouri, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington State, Tennessee, Massachusetts, North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Vermont, Nebraska, Ohio, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Mississippi and the District of Columbia, in recognizing the end of enslavement in America.
Rev. Myers hopes to travel to Carson City to witness Nevada becoming the 39th state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday observance, if Gov. Sandoval arranges a signing ceremony.
State Director for National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the Nevada Juneteenth Holiday Campaign Director Deborah A. Evans states, "Being number 39 is good, It's all in the family. I congratulate State Representative Harlow and the citizens of Maine and invite everyone to join us in Las Vegas where we will celebrate Juneteenth in true dual Gemini fashion at our 2nd Annual Jazz, Spoken Word, and Arts Grassroots Fest, 'A Juneteenth Jazz Tribute to Ghalib Ghallab and the late Monk Montgomery' to be held on June 4, 2011 at the West Las Vegas Library Theater".
Also, the National Juneteenth Jazz Artist, pianist and trumpeter Ron Myers will be the featured performer at the Las Vegas celebration of the passage of the state's Juneteenth legislation. The concert, is part of a national concert series, "June is Black Music Month!" - CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH JAZZ - "Preserving Our African American Jazz Legacy!"
"This time, what's done in Vegas will not stay in Vegas," states Rev. Myers, also Founder & Chairman of the NJOF. "The celebration of America's second Independence Day in Vegas will continue to spread outside of Vegas, across America and around the world. Perhaps President Obama will finally personally acknowledge the significance of Juneteenth at the White House, which was built by American's of African descent during the tyranny of enslavement, and support legislation in Congress to make Juneteenth a National Day of Observance, like Flag Day or Patriot Day."