THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

A DEDICATION of the MEMORIAL to the ENSLAVED was held at St. John Francis Regis Catholic Church in Hollywood, MD., pastor the Reverend Father Ray Schmidt.
A 7:00 p.m. Mass was held and a Candle Light Procession and Gospel Spirituals with Nydia Noriega were included in the ceremony. A special recognition of the 51st anniversary of the Death of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was given during the service. The homilist was the Reverend Scott Woods, pastor at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in St. Inigoes, Md. And the guest speaker was Sandra Coles-Bell, program director, Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach Secretariat for Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns, Archdiocese of Washington.

Program Quotes
Quote from the Invitation: “We honor these men and women taken forcibly from homes and families in their native countries, enslaved and buried in unmarked graves and without ceremony in a country not of their choosing. We honor their descendants who have remained and who provide a rich cultural heritage in this land now called home.”
As long as the mind is enslaved the body can never be free. Psychological Freedom & a firm sense of self-esteem is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery.
Quote in the program from Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, first African American to lead the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He will officially begin his tenure as the Archbishop of Washington on May 21st.
“Each one of us must ask how we contribute to the racist climate that seems only to grow stronger in spite of our best efforts at legislative and social remedies. Whether we are victims of racism or its perpetrators, we must begin on our knees.” Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory|
