Press Release KANSAS CITY MEMORIAL JUNETEENTH JAZZ & ARTS FESTIVAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (8/29/09)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
662-247-1471 662-247-3364
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com
web site: www.Juneteenth.us
web site: www.JuneteenthJazz.com
John Thompson, Executive Producer
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP)
Juneteenth America, Inc.
909-621-9707
e-mail: johnharold@juneteenthamerica.us
web sites: www.JuneteenthJazz.com
www.JuneteenthAmerica.us
Frederick Lamar Vickers
Kansas City Juneteenth Committee
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
816-359-7525
e-mail: lamarvickersdeja2@yahoo.com
web sites: www.JazzMissouri.com
3rd Annual Kansas City Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival
2010 Black Music Month
Kansas City Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival
(Kansas City, Missouri) - Kansas City's rich black jazz heritage and legacy will be celebrated during the 3rd Annual
Kansas City Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival. The festival is hosted by the Black Health Care Coalition of
Kansas City, on Saturday, June 12, 2009, at the Marriott Country Club Hotel, on 45th and Main Street, from 2:00pm - 9:00pm.
Juneteenth is officially recognized as a state holiday
observance in Missouri, joining a total of 31 states and the District of Columbia in the recognition of America's 2nd
Independence Day. The festival is sponsored by the National Association of
Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP) and is a part of the "June is Black
Music Month!" - CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH JAZZ - "Preserving Our African American Jazz Legacy!" national
concert series.
Juneteenth commemorates the day when slaves in the last geographic area in America where slavery existed learned of their freedom. This took place on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger read General Order #3, announcing that "all slaves are free" by Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two and a half years for the news to travel to southwest Texas. The National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign continues to work to establish Juneteenth as a National Holiday Observance in America.
The festival is in honor of the late Horace Peterson, founder of the historic first Kansas City Juneteenth Festival that took place in the early 1980's in the 18th and Vine District. The placement of a historic marker in the 18th and Vine District to commemorate Kansas City's first Juneteenth Celebration is one of the goals of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation and Juneteenth America, Inc.
"Kansas City has a rich black jazz and Juneteenth historic legacy that has influenced our "Modern Juneteenth Movement" and the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign," states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign. "The preservation of that legacy through memorializing the ground breaking work of Horace Peterson is why the annual Kansas City Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival will be taking place every year. Horace inluenced several key grass roots Juneteenth leaders from throughout America to start Juneteenth Festivals."
The festival's featured artist will be accomplished jazz pianist and trumpeter, National Juneteenth Jazz Artist,
Ron Myers. Myers has performed and recorded in Kansas City with the late native legendary jazz drummer "Delightful Dee" Al
Bartee. Horace Washington, Director of the Kansas City Juneteenth Jazz Institute, will be featured on saxophone
and flute, along with Cuban percussionist Earlton Batles Manley. Also performing will be Aye Aton, legendary drummer of the Sun Ra Arkestra, percussionist Wilton Knott and
bassist Derrick Brown.
"As a native of Kansas City, where I grew up and worked closely with Horace Peterson, I'm excited about what we are doing to preserve our great black jazz legacy through Juneteenth," states John Thompson, Executive Producer and Founder of Juneteenth America, Inc. "Along with the annual jazz festival, we are planning to build upon the foundation laid down by Horace for future generations. Horace was a tremendous influence on my successful legislative efforts to establish Juneteenth as an official State Holiday Observance in California."
An opening Juneteenth Art Exhibit is scheduled for 1:00pm and a Juneteenth Arts Reception, both featuring an
art exhibit by National Juneteenth Visual Artist, Alvin Carter, honoring Horace Peterson, will take place at 6:00pm.
The
National Juneteenth Health Summit with Frank McCune, M.D., M.B.A., Chairman of the
National Juneteenth Medical Commission, is scheduled from 2:00pm - 5:00pm. The summit
will focus on health care disparities in the African American comuunity and solutions to our impending health care crises.
Information about the festival can be found at www.JazzMissouri.com or www.JuneteenthJazz.com.
Also contact John Thompson at 909-621-9707, e-mail: johnharold@juneteenthamerica.us or Dr. Ron Myers at
662-247-3364, e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com, Frederick Lamar Vickers at 816-359-7525, e-mail:
lamarvickersdeja2@yahoo.com
or web sites www.Juneteenth.us, www.19thofJune.com or www.njclc.com.
The Black Health Care Coalition of Kansas City can be contacted at 816-444-9600 or web site: www.bhcckc.org.
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