Category Archives: Abolition Of Work

The Abolition of Man is an upcoming four-issue comic series drawn solely by artificial intelligence. Per Bleedingcool, cartoonist Carson Grubaugh teamed up with image generating system MidJourney AI to create the series. Instead of drawing the art, Grubaugh fed prompts into the generator to craft the images. The new publishing group Living The Line is producing the comic. It releases later this year.

For the first issue of The Abolition of Man, Grubaugh fed lines from Lewis series of lectures and books into MidJourney AI. Then, artificial intelligence crafted images from those lines. Grubaugh then aligned the images with the prompts to re-create Lewis work in comic book form.

Grubaugh shared a bit on why he decided to create such a comic. He states that the idea comes from his time spent abusing many different publicly available app-fads. He did this to illustrate how so much content is being generated in the world. Specifically, he believes we are heading for a Banal, Content Apocalypse. Or a world where something genuinely new is impossible to find. In contemplating this, the cartoonist began researching artificial intelligence.

With new image-creating AI, we can create previously unimaginable content. In understanding this, Grubaugh decided not to go against this evolution. Instead, he chose to use it to his advantage. Or, as he puts it, In a world where there is nothing new under the Sun, choose to change the Sun. Living The Line publisher Sean Michael Robinsons fully behind this attitude. He says that the miniseries captures both the wonder and despair inherent in this new technology.

C.S. Lewis original work is a defense of objective value and natural law. It also warns about the consequences of doing away with either concept. Essentially, it defends the idea of man having power over nature. This new comic book is essentially the same concept, just rewired to work in todays AI-obsessedworld.

The Abolition of Man gives a chilling peek into the world of the future. It is a look into a world where humans and their treasured material possessions have lost all-purpose. Issue #1 is in shops on October 26th.

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The Abolition of Man is the First Comic From A.I. - The Nerd Stash

TV: What would building abolitionist alternatives under our existing conditions even look like?

RWG: Over the course of more than 20 years of fighting I was there for part of this, but certainly not all of it we succeeded in stopping the county of Los Angeles from building not one but two brand-new multibillion dollar jails. There are fewer people locked in jail in that county than when we started that fight. [And] it's not like what we did was sacrifice people's well-being by stopping the construction of something new, an accusation abolitionists get all the time: You don't really care about people.

In the early 2000s, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California, he assembled a Blue Ribbon commission to study the prisons in California and make recommendations. A bunch of us tried to get me onto the commission: Dr. Gilmore, PhD, professor. We could tell that we would fax my CV to them and they would put it straight into the shredder without even an acknowledgement. So we go, Can't get on your commission? We're gonna start our own.

We just invited people to come and talk to us about whatever they wanted to talk to us about. Those rooms would fill up, all over the state of California. When we were fighting one of the many rounds of jail expansion in Los Angeles which was conjoined, of course, with and hire more cops we had a hearing on a really rainy night in October, a week before the election in South Central L.A. It was pouring out, man. But people came. It was packed.

My partner had this brilliant idea: We made Post-its more or less the size of dollar bills. Let's say they were $50 million each, and we gave everybody 10 bills, $500 million, as they checked in. We invited them to approach a wall where we put all kinds of spending categories, including policing and jails, and said, Spend your money. If you could spend your money on anything, what would you spend it on? A few people put some of it in jails, but most people put it with everything else. That was the icebreaker, with nobody being compelled to say anything out loud. Then we gathered and started listening to people come and testify to the commission. And we won. There was an election [in Los Angeles] to pass a tax increase to fund the jail and the new cops, and we beat it.

TV: Lets talk about another form of organizing unions. This conversation comes shortly after the union win at Amazons JFK8 warehouse. How are you feeling?

RWG: Oh, I'm really optimistic. The fact that this kind of organizing is happening against one of the biggest firms on the planet matters enormously.

I work with some people who run a very small, independent research outfit in Los Angeles called the Economic Roundtable, which does work to try to make the conditions of life better as soon as possible for as many people as possible, for wherever they study. The big political idea at the edge of [their] research [on Amazon] is this: Amazon should be a public utility. Right? It just should be.

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Ruth Wilson Gilmore Talks Abolition Geography and Liberation - Teen Vogue

Juneteenth, or June 19, became a federal holiday in 2021. The holiday marks the date in 1865 when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order Number 3, which ended the enslavement of Black people in Texas a full 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

The Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the U.S., leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control and the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After Jan. 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. The proclamation announced the acceptance of Black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom. A lack of Union troops in the rebel state of Texas made the order difficult to enforce and the Civil War did not end until April 9, 1865.

Gen. Grangers Order No. 3 stated, The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

For many African Americans, June 19 is considered an independence day. Before 2021, nearly all 50 states recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation officially declaring it a federal holiday.

The SlaveVoyages.org website is a collaborative digital initiative that compiles and makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history.

The Trans-Atlantic and Intra-American slave trade databases are the culmination of several decades of independent and collaborative research by scholars drawing upon data in libraries and archives around the Atlantic world.

The National Endowment for the Humanities was the principal sponsor of this work carried out originally at Emory Center for Digital Scholarship, the University of California at Irvine, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The Hutchins Center of Harvard University has also provided support. The website is currently hosted at Rice University.

You can see more maps here.

The public can search the records at slavevoyages.org to learn about the broad origins and forced relocations of more than 12 million African people who were sent across the Atlantic in slave ships and hundreds of thousands more who were trafficked within the Americas. The site explores where they were taken, the numerous rebellions that occurred, the horrific loss of life during the voyages and the identities and nationalities of the perpetrators.

Key dates in the trans-Atlantic trade in slaves from Africa and its abolition:

Sources: slavevoyages.org, History.com, The Associated Press, National Archives, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human, Anti-Slavery Society, UC Irvine, Smithsonian, African American History and Culture Museum

The top images is from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and is an illustration of people reading the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

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Juneteenth: The newest federal holiday and trans-Atlantic slaverys rise and fall - San Bernardino County Sun

June 19, 1865.

It was the day that U.S. Army General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Texas. Word of the Emancipation Proclamation had already gotten around since its signing more than two years earlier, but this news made it official in Texas and, ostensibly, meant it was going to be enforced. Celebration ensued.

One year later, on June 19, 1866, Texas marked its first Jubilee Day and Juneteenth has been commemorated there ever since, eventually spreading across the nation and made a holiday in several states. In 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day was at last established as a federal holiday.

In advance and in honor of Juneteenth this year, The Current asked a diversity of scholars for their perspectives on its significance, and on some meaningful ways it can be commemorated.

Here are the responses that were received:

StephanieL. Batiste, associate professor of English; associate director, Center for Black Studies Research

Neither the United States nor the world has ever taken full accountability for the totalizing impact of 400-plus years of race-based slavery and global colonialism that forged the modern era in fact forged everything that happened during and has come after it. Slavery governed human, identity, sexual, economic, legal, trade, labor, political, regional, national and international features of structural and everyday life in an epic and intergenerational fashion. Slavery as a structure of knowledge vibrates deeply in the sinews of assumption and practice of our national identities to the extent that destructive racist sensibilities and practices still traverse quotidian interactions as natural and innocent. This holiday acknowledging that it took years after the legal emancipation for slaveholders to release their ownership, subjugation, labor and resource extraction of human beings with inalienable rights to freedom is a tiny step in recognizing the errors of a normalized violent history.

Science fiction understands slavery better than everyday people and certainly our political entities. Addressing history can reveal the deviously tangled, again thickly totalizing structures of racism in a nation purportedly committed to democracy and freedom. Black Americans as a people have been committed to that dream, and to broader freedom dreams, even as we have not been able to benefit from national promises or the entitlements of citizenship. This holiday may be a celebration, but it is also a very late federal step, particularly for contemporary citizens, in recognizing that slavery was a significant happening in the U.S. with thundering consequences that resonate to this moment, to each moment.

Community celebrations toward healing and mutual recognition of survival, resilience, creativity and genius among Black people will be wonderful. But a public reckoning with the many outstanding histories my colleagues and forebears have written about the broad processes and intimate details of colonialism, slavery and abolition is essential. Slavery and its deep-seated global legacies of anti-Black racism have impacted every institution in this and every other country. An intentional dismantling of racist structures that universally impact the poor, the young, the sick, the practice of law, the incarcerated, the structurally hopeless, entire industries of workers,et ceteramust occur if this recognition on the part of our government is to have any feet.

Ninotchka Bennahum, professor of theater and dance

Juneteenth is significant because it symbolizes the re-founding of a nation, not on the backs of a free labor source brutalized and enslaved but rather with the written and holistic notion of a place where everybody is born equal, with an inalienable right to happiness, to freedom, to life.

Juneteenth is a reimagining of a nation that was founded far away from the principles of an egalitarian nation. It is a reenactment of an ideal: a united nation where all are free to live in freedom and prosperity.

It is important to remember that 1866 [the first year Juneteenth was officially celebrated in Texas] also witnessed another tragedy: the genocidal tactics of the U.S. government against First Peoples, Native Americans, in order to seize their land and to control their ancient secular and religious traditions.

To commemorate Juneteenth we can dance, a kinesthetic act of remembrance. We can dance in public spaces, civic spaces. Dance becomes an act, however small, of resistance, a mnemonic an embodied liberty that recognizes the tremendous cultural contribution of African Americans to our history.

Richard Durn, professor of education, associate dean for faculty equity, The Gevirtz School

The proclamation of Juneteenth as a federal holiday marks our countrys moral commitment to keep its promises to ensure the freedom and liberty of Black Americans backed by whatever actions are necessary. It is a day of national recognition of the racist harms that Black Americans suffered historically stemming from slavery and that they continue to encounter to this day. It also marks our celebration that, as Americans, we can right wrongs when we understand each others common good and human rights, and that, when put to the test, we can take actions righting wrongs whether this be by civil policies or healing enforcement of laws tied to education and human rights. Importantly, the Juneteenth holiday is about the energy of hope and belief in each other, when we look ahead to building our futures as Americans in concert with our many global partners and heritage communities.

We all can join in honoring and celebrating this joyful holiday. I suggest visiting the 2022 Juneteenth Caring for the People Block Party website. This site and the local in-person activities set for June 19 described therein is a collaboration of many Santa Barbara community groups led by Juneteenth SB and Healing Justice Santa Barbara. Beyond offering details on the planned wonderful block party event open to all, this site includes information on the history of the Juneteenth movement locally as well as nationally. While Juneteenth is commemorated as a distinct holiday, it also needs to be commemorated in our everyday reflections on the importance of our support for our Black community members, and their well-being must be backed up by our actions and advocacy in daily life.

Pei-Te Lien, professor of political science; affiliated faculty, Asian American studies,Black studies,feminist studies

In the context of a deeply divided and unevenly polarized America, the bipartisan support for the installation of a new national holiday in honor of enslaved African Americans and to acknowledge the profound and continuing impacts of institutionalized anti-Black racism by the federal government was a feat for America, not just progressive America or Afro America.This act signaled the strong collective will and commitment of the American people to pursue racial justice, even if the process had been delayed for over 150 years.

As Asian Americans, whose access to immigration, citizenship and other social and political rights have been historically denied or systematically blocked, and our community continues to experience anti-Asian microaggression and endure a high volume of hate violence and xenophobic attacks in the triple pandemics of COVID-19, racism and sexism, we hope the celebration of this national holiday will go beyond recognizing anti-Black racism and can address other forms of marginalization and oppression against all minorities. Insisting on teaching students a critical understanding of U.S. history from a racially and ethnically inclusive perspective is the most crucial first step for me.

Giuliana Perrone, associate professor of history; affiliated faculty, Center for Black Studies Research

Often, were told that Juneteenth was the moment enslaved Texans learned they were free. Not quite. Plenty knew what was going on and were actively working to subvert the power of enslavers. Rather, General Order No. 3 told white enslavers that the U.S. Army would enforce emancipation in Texas and prevent them from holding human property from that point forward. Current rhetoric also runs the risk of overstating what Grangers order did; it prevented ongoing enslavement but did NOT deliver lasting equality or citizenship. The job of securing liberation, that is, isnt over.

The holiday honors not only emancipation but also the historical Black celebrations of it. Making the holiday federal signals to all Americans that those celebrations are not just for Black people but should be shared by all Americans that Black history is American history, and vice versa. Its also a reminder that the nation has a slave past and that it must continue to move beyond the legacies of slavery. It is, in that way, a call to action; it reminds people that celebrating freedom from bondage is just one step in a much longer liberation struggle. We can celebrate successes in that struggle (emancipation) while we continue to fight for the promises made during Reconstruction (civil rights acts and new amendments especially). Its also a way to honor the fact that Black Americans often enslaved Black Americans made the Civil War about their own freedom. So celebrating Juneteenth is a celebration of the thousands of Black people who fled plantations, worked in union encampments, and served as soldiers whose names may not be known but whose collective deeds fundamentally changed the course of American history.

To me, commemorations of Juneteenth should include joyful celebration of an important moment in the Black freedom struggle AND a recommitment to continue fighting for the abolition of structural and other forms of racism that have lingered well after the end of enslavement. (The distinction between emancipation and abolition is really important in my work; emancipation notes the moment that enslavement ended, but abolition requires something much more substantial the removal of slaverys lasting legacies and the construction of equal and equitable citizenship.) Theres a reason that efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday finally succeeded with the momentum of the George Floyd uprising behind it. It was a moment in which Americans mobilized for change and renewed calls to end all manifestations of racism. So when we celebrate Juneteenth, we must each honor that by asking ourselves, What am I going to do to advance the cause of social justice for all?

PaulSpickard, distinguished professor of history; affiliate professor of Black studies, Chicana/o studies, Asian American studies

We celebrate freedom in many ways in our country, but freedom has not been equally available to all Americans throughout our history. July 4 celebrates our national independence from Britain, but only a small minority adult, propertied, White males possessed full citizenship rights in the first several generations. Wives were legally considered the property of their husbands, as were children of their parents. Most egregiously, one out of every six Americans was enslaved: abused, working for no wages, subject to being separated from family members, bought and sold, having no rights.

Enslaved African Americans did not suddenly become free and acquire full citizenship rights on June 19, 1865, when word went out across Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. Gradually then, formerly enslaved people worked to achieve something like full citizenship.

That has taken more than 125 years and we are far from equality. But since the Galveston Black community first celebrated their limited freedom on Juneteenth in 1866, African Americans have consistently pushed against White supremacy. We have made some progress since then, but it has not been steady, and we currently are in a period when White supremacy is on the rise again. Juneteenth reminds all Americans that the Bill of Rights is supposed to be for everybody. It holds out our better ideals before us, even as we still fail to achieve them.

Im sure there will be a parade somewhere, and picnics and barbecues. Those are good things to do. But Im going to suggest another.

Im in Hungary at the moment on sabbatical. Here this year I have watched democracy be systematically disassembled by a corrupt dictatorship. All the things that have been done in Hungary to destroy democracy and social equality, and to subvert the will of the people, are currently being tried by political actors in the United States. Now is a time to get to work to stop them. Find a political cause or campaign that favors social justice and get involved. Thats a good way to celebrate Juneteenth.

Sharon Tettegah, associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion; director, Center for Black Studies Research; professor of Black studies

Juneteenthis an important date that commemorates emancipation of slaves of African descent in the U.S. No human being should be enslaved to the extent that African Americans were enslaved. Its a prime example of how the history of African American peoples was erased and Juneteenth is a recognition of how we have not been recognized up until today as human beings.

We can systematize and create a safe space for African Americans on the UCSB campus. We need more anti-racism training for non-Black faculty, staff and students particularly for those who do not understand African American/Black individualsand communities. This campus should demonstrate support for African Americans knowing that historical, institutional and structural racism still existsand the struggle continues. Governor Gavin Newsom signed measure AB3121 and developed a task force to study and develop reparations. At the very least, the university and its system should understand the part it plays in maintaining over 400 years of institutional racism and anti-Blackness.

African Americans are still trying to fight for justice against verbal, physical and emotional accusations and abuse, as in the cases of Emmett Till, George Floyd, Breonna Taylorand others whose accusers and killers never faced any legal consequences.The Black individual in U.S. society does not have any power in a system based on the tenets of anti-Blackness, regardless of their position.

A 2016 meta-analytical integration of over 40 years of research on diversity training evaluation found that DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) training and dialogue are insufficient to address anti-Blackness. We need actions that address anti-Blackness and an understanding of the history of slavery and its impact.

Isaiah Jay Jones, doctoral student, counseling, clinical and school psychology; clinician, The Healing Space

The injustice of the continued enslavement of peoples in Galveston, Texas, for an additional two years was able to continue because of enforced isolation and ignorance. Through community, allyship, learning and sharing, we celebrate, support and uplift Black life. While there is more work to be done, we must all also take time for radical joy, hope and healing, and especially so in times of hardship.

As Juneteenth is the commemoration of Black/African American freedom, celebration and community, the best ways to honor that are by participating with the community! In Santa Barbara, that could mean attending the Juneteenth Caring for the People Block Party, supporting local Black businesses, spending time with each other, or simply continuing to be an ally and friend. As individuals, we can also prioritize opening ourselves to discussions or reflections on injustice in the U.S., both historic and ongoing.

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Perspectives on Juneteenth | The UCSB Current - The UCSB Current

On June 19 now a national holiday celebrating Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when slavery finally ended in the United States the final round of the U.S. Open Championship will be played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Known to few is a historical connection between the club and one of Americas most important documents, the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln issued this executive order in 1863, setting in motion the abolition of slavery.

That connection is George Sewall Boutwell, born in 1818 in a Brookline farmhouse whose foundation exists today as part of the Jaques Room of the clubs clubhouse. Boutwells father, Sewall, managed a farm owned by Dr. William Spooner on land that would become The Country Club in 1882, with the golf course constructed in the 1890s. As for George, who attended common schools and never went to college, he would have a remarkable 60-year career as Massachusetts governor, congressman, and senator, as well as Secretary of the Treasury for President Ulysses Grant. Importantly, for our story, he served as Commissioner of Internal Revenue under Lincoln.

At a low point for the Union during the Civil War, Boutwell arrived in Washington in the summer of 1862 to organize the revenue bureau. Over the next few months, he would play a pivotal role as trusted friend and adviser to Lincoln in publicly calling for the abolition of slavery at a time when the president had to be cautious about alienating Northern public opinion regarding the Unions wartime objectives.

On a sweltering August day, Boutwell and Lincoln appeared together at a public rally attended by 10,000 people on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol building. Speaking just after the president, Boutwell sparked cheers from the crowd and positive coverage in Northern newspapers when he declared, We shall never crush the rebellion until we crush slavery.

This was something Lincoln could not yet say. As president, his stated aim was to preserve the Union and make sure border states such as Kentucky and Maryland didnt desert the Union for the Confederacy. The next day, The New York Herald noted that all but one of the speeches reflected Lincolns policy to prosecute the war for the Union, to crush out the rebellion first, and attend to other matters [slavery] afterward. The one single exception [was] the speech of Governor Boutwell.

The Boston Evening Transcript applauded Gov. Boutwells strong emancipation speech, while The Evening Post in New York reported that Boutwell described the real causes of the rebellion and how the Union could never be restored until slavery had been eternally removed.

In the weeks following, when Boutwell met with the Lincoln at the White House to discuss the work of collecting taxes for the Union war effort, he would urge the president to publicly make the abolition of slavery a central aim of the war. In late August, shortly after the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Boutwell told Lincoln that emancipation seemed the only way out of our troubles.

Three weeks later, after Union armies blunted the Confederate advance into Maryland at the battle of Antietam and sent Gen. Robert E. Lees forces back across the Potomac River, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, to take effect on Jan. 1, 1863.

In the years following, as congressman from Massachusetts 7th District, Boutwell would help write the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which provide for equal protection under the law and Black voting rights. In the 1870s, as senator, he chaired a select committee investigating the Ku Klux Klan and White supremacist violence against Black people during the Mississippi state election campaign of 1875.

Boutwells devotion to civil rights and racial equality continued up to his death in 1905 at age 87 at his home of 70 years in Groton, Massachusetts, now open to the public as the Groton History Center.

Eight years later, in 1913, the club hosted its first U.S. Open Championship, made famous by the playoff victory of 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet over British stars Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, which helped spark Americas golf boom in the early 20th century. That tournament was also memorable for the participation of John Matthew Shippen Jr., Americas first Black professional golfer and the son of an enslaved father set free by the abolition of slavery. Shippen first played in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in 1896 at 16, tying for fifth place, and by 1913 he was the head pro at the exclusive Maidstone Club in Easthampton on Long Island.

Shippen played in six U.S. Open championships and finished his career in 1960 as head pro at Americas first Black country club in New Jersey, The Shady Rest Golf and Country Club in Scotch Plains. A pioneer in efforts to desegregate American golf, Shippen was awarded a posthumous membership in the PGA of America in 2009, and his work is promoted today by the John Shippen Memorial Golf Foundation.

In 1913, Shippen was the first Black American golfer to participate in a tournament at The Country Club, walking fairways where George Boutwell had been born a century before. In their very different ways, the two men worked to redeem Americas promise of racial equality and opportunity, a struggle that continues today, a century later.

Jeffrey Boutwell, a native of Winchester, Massachusetts, and a distant cousin of George S. Boutwell, is the author of the forthcoming, Redeeming Americas Promise: George S. Boutwell and the Politics of Race, Money, and Power, 1818-1905.

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The link between freedom and golf's biggest event, the US Open - The Boston Globe

As my plane touched down in Louisville earlier this week, there were many thoughts I brought back from California with me. I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Anaheim and would like to offer seven observations and how we can move forward.

1. Trust is low in the SBC: From the very first motions coming from the floor, it became quickly evident the SBC has a trust problem. Motions ranging from a request for a forensic audit of a national entity, an investigation into an SBC seminary, and the abolition of one of our entities made it plain that we have a trust issue. Since ministry runs at the speed of trust, this is a sizeable matter and we must address it.

2. Accountability is needed: The messengers seemed to be saying to entity leadership that they expect the entities to be accountable to them, the messengers, and the churches of the SBC. Since the local church is the headquarters of the SBC, this seems like a reasonable request. Entity leaders must take the initiative in assuring they are providing the level of accountability needed to restore trust with the messengers and the churches.

3. Trustees can be bridge builders: Bridges go both ways and trustees can build bridges between the national entities and local churches by providing accountability in both directions. Trustees are to be cheerleaders for the entities, but they must also represent the churches that send them. In other words, the trustees must speak to the messengers about the entity they represent but they must also speak to the entity about the concerns of the churches that send them. If the entity leadership fails to listen, then the messengers must demand a change.

4. We have guardrails: Our system of cooperative ministry is unlike any other in the nation. We send messengers to a convention to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down on issues impacting our cooperative work. We do not cooperate in ministry and mission together as a convention of churches because we agree in lockstep on every theological or methodological matter, but because we believe we can have a greater gospel impact by working together than any of us can have alone.

5. We can solve problems: Much prayer and arduous work was carried out between the SBC gathering in Nashville last year and the one in Anaheim last week. As a result, we were able to hear a report on sexual abuse and then take overwhelmingly affirmed next steps toward securing church attendees from sexual predators. We also made it clear that we are not prepared to abolish one of our long-standing entities because we disagree with some of its past actions.

6. Our mission matters: There were few dry eyes in the room as we heard the testimonies of fifty-two of our missionaries and their call to the nations with the gospel. One of our entity leaders reminded us that the worlds greatest problem is lostness and the gospel is the only solution and that we originally came together, and need to stay together, to address the worlds greatest problem. We must remember that our mission is too important for us to let it be derailed. We must continue to learn to solve our trust and accountability problems while at the same time addressing the worlds greatest problem: lostness.

7. I love the SBC: As I sat next to a couple of Kentucky Baptist pastors, had conversations with others from other states, interacted with entity heads and ministry leaders, shook hands with people I have only met on social media, saw a pastor of eight people nominate himself for an SBC office, and saw another pastor of a mega-church come to the same microphones as others, I was reminded once again that although we do have problems and we do need to address them I love being Southern Baptist.

Thank you, Kentucky Baptists, for allowing me to serve you and for sending me to the SBC in Anaheim. May the Lord Himself give us the courage, conviction and compassion to address our problems and move forward with our mission in a cooperative way until Jesus comes or calls us home.

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FIRST PERSON: At the SBC in Anaheim | Baptist Life | kentuckytoday.com - Kentucky Today

How does a simple party become a full blown shindig? Make it an all weekend party celebrating two huge occasions! Wah Gwaan Brewing is turning one this weekend, an anniversary that coincidentally coincides with Juneteenth. Being a Black-owned brewery, Juneteenth is a perfect time for Wah Gwaan to celebrate, and celebrate they will.

Industry collaboration and community involvement is key to any brewerys success, and Wah Gwaan owners Harsha Maragh and Jesse Brown have always made it a point to work with others and foster strong relationships amongst the local and larger Black community. To that end, they are releasing a collaboration beer with several Black owned or led breweries around the country. Says Harsha, we love networking and connecting with folks in the industry, so we reached out to a ton to see who would be interested in this particular collab. The response was strong as 3 breweries (Daleview Biscuits and Beer from Brooklyn, Outerworld Brewing from Longmont, CO and Vine Street Brewing from Kansas City), and 1 homebrewing group (Crafty Brothas from Houston) offered to help brew a passion fruit Pale Ale, Sweet Chariot. The beers name is a reference to the song Swing Low Sweet Chariot which can be interpreted to be about the abolition of slavery and as a code to escape to freedom. This prominent song has been a staple in the Black community for 100s of years and is reflective of what Juneteenth represents. The beer itself is on the sweeter side with a slight hop presence. Passion fruit puree was used in its brewing, and Sweet Chariots yeast helps to bring out stone fruit flavors.

In addition to this collab, another beer brewed with Old 121 Brewing will also be released Saturday. This Schwarzbier is a community collab between two nearby breweries who are good friends. Other beer releases include a peach cardamom Strong Golden Ale, a style of beer and additions chosen by Wah Gwaan staff. The return of the popular Trop Queen is sure to please crowds as the refreshing jackfruit Kolsch goes great with the hot summer weather.

Beer is not the only thing happening at Wah Gwaan this weekend. Saturday is the designated birthday party and will feature live music from DJ Ambitious Boy. Serving up good eats will be Flippin Birdz, a Hawaiian inspired food truck. There will also be free cupcakes for the first 100 guests, merch giveaways and a keep the glass promotion featuring special anniversary glassware. Wah Gwaans in-house artist has designed anniversary merch including tees, glassware, stickers and hats, so be on the lookout for those.

Sunday will be a laid back celebration for both Juneteenth and Fathers Day. While enjoying all the newly released beers, visitors can check out Offbeat Market, a Denver makers market that highlights women, LGBTQ, Black and POC owned businesses. ~12 different vendors will be on-site offering their wares presenting a great opportunity to buy local goods. Food will be provided by Fritay Haitian Cuisine.

Giving back to the community is not only limited to this weekends events at the brewery. Wah Gwaan will be participating at Big Queer Beer Fest Saturday and will donate a portion of their proceeds to Black Pride Colorado. Black Pride Colorado will also be setting up at the brewery next week to spread their good word. Its not just the local community that Wah Gwaan is seeking to make an impact upon. In August, Jamaican Independence Day will be celebrated in the taproom August 6. They are working with the Lasco Chin Foundation and the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance to host a charity event in support of these organizations as a way to give back to the Jamaican and Caribbean communities abroad.

As detailed here, Wah Gwaan has a busy weekend ahead packed full of special releases and events. While their anniversary is certainly an occasion worthy of a party, it is the larger Black community that Wah Gwaan hopes to celebrate. Asked about the significance of having Juneteenth as their anniversary, Jesse said Juneteenth is the day that we celebrate our freedom as Black Americans. Opening our business on Juneteenth is a way to exercise our freedom to conduct commerce and come together as a community to celebrate. Join the party and celebrate with Wah Gwaan this weekend!

Featured image courtesy Rebecca Todd of TruBlu Images

Excerpt from:

Wah Gwaan 1 Year Anniversary and Juneteenth Celebration PorchDrinking.com - porchdrinking.com

Rev. Candace McKibben| Guest columnist

My sweet daddy was born the last of 10 children on a farm in Baxley, Georgia. His older siblings were quite a bit older, and some of his playmates were their children, Daddys nieces and nephews.

His older brother, Harvey, worked in the turpentine business with the help of tenant workers whose children were also his playmates and who kept an eye on little Billy. My understanding is after a hard days work, these tenant workers played checkers on the porches of their modest homes in the evening.

Things to do: Watermelon, barbecue, Lee Boys and Lure of Fishing on tap

Sense of purpose: Purpose and sense of destiny roll in with the waves at Destin Beach | Tompkins

Whenever my daddy, Billy, went missing in the evening, he was sure to be found on a porch playing checkers. My mother said it was what made him such a strategic player.

Daddy was hard to beat at checkers, but that is a small prize compared to the other important lessons and values he learned growing up among children who were different in color but the same in so many other respects. They liked playing stick ball and the freedom of roaming the nearby fields exploring and pretending, as children at play often do.

My daddys own father died when he was only 2, but he did not lack for fatherly figures as his evening checker partners were patient and kind enough to help him learn the game, and his older brother, Harvey, took on the role of Dad.

This year, Fathers Day and Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or the Day of Freedom, fall on the same day. Juneteenth is both somber and celebratory as it commemorates the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery.

It was first observed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1866, a year after the day the last African American slaves in our country who were residing in Galveston learned of their freedom that had been won the year prior as the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. On Dec.6, 1865, the required 27 votes of the then 36 states came when Georgia agreed to ratify.

Though long celebrated in Black communities, Juneteenth has been gaining a wider audience and was declared a National Holiday in 2021.

What I have heard of my own family story is that my Uncle Harvey was a kind boss to his tenant workers. He helped many of them acquire birth certificates, giving some of them full names and birthdates, so that they could apply for Social Security.

But writing these words feels deeply sad, that 70-plus years after so-called freedom, these tenant farmers were still in so many ways beholden to the boss, as kind as he may have been. Sadder still that today, some 157 years after so-called freedom, we are still working at offering liberty and justice to all.

As I think of my sweet daddy this Fathers Day, my sadness is tempered by gratitude for the tenant workers who were kind to him, treating him like one of their own young ones. I love the thought of daddy playing with their children and each learning from the other that we are so much more alike than different.

Recently, we visited the boyhood farm of Jimmy Carter in Plains, Georgia. The National Park Service has done a remarkable job of restoring the house and its outbuildings to a pre-1938 condition, including two tenant houses. Carter was born four years before my father and lived in the same neck of the woods, so I wonder if the tenant homes on Carters boyhood farm were anything like the ones where my father played checkers.

I imagine that the connection that Jimmy Carter felt to one tenant family, Rachel and Jack Clark, might resemble the connection my father felt years ago. On the tour of his boyhood farm, you can hear recordings of Jimmy Carters voice as your guide.

He says in one of the tenant houses recordings, that his parents left him in the care of the Clark family on some occasions and it was his joy to be with them. He attributes their hospitality towards him with his own deep conviction that all people matter. They always made me feel like I belonged, he said of staying with them while his parents were away.

Human research tells us belonging matters greatly. It is what we all long for, and the absence of love and belonging creates suffering.

Belonging is not about fitting in as vulnerability and shame researcher Dr. Brene Brown writes. It is about believing in inextricable human connection.

She has found in her research of our current climate that we are less diverse in our human connections than ever before, but more lonely. Perhaps this is because we have sorted ourselves based on our disdain of others rather than our intrinsic human connection with all people.

Capital City Culture Community Outreach, a nonprofit program founded to educate different cultures about each others heritage while encouraging local youth to become strong leaders, is hosting Juneteenth Empowerment Day at Cascade Park in downtown Tallahassee on Saturday, June 18, from noon to 6 p.m. This free event hosts 10 food and 100 retail vendors, live music, and speakers.

Attending provides an opportunity to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the American South and to learn more about African American culture.

A college student says of Juneteenth, Take the time to learn about what we went through as a culture and a race, so you can see where our pain is coming from when certain events happen in America and why we feel the way we feel.

It is an invitation to embrace our inextricable human connection in all its rich diversity.

This Fathers Day, I am grateful for the ways in which my daddys upbringing afforded him the opportunity to experience diverse human kindness and connection early. I know that his positive regard for all people had a profound impact on me.

I pray that all fathers and father figures will realize the influence they have on their children and sow seeds of kindness and love. Happy Fathers Day.

What: Capital City Culture Community Outreach, a nonprofit program founded to educate different cultures about each others heritage while encouraging local youth to become strong leaders, is hosting Juneteenth Empowerment Day

When: noon-6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cascades Park in downtown Tallahassee.This free event hosts 10 food and 100 retail vendors, live music, and speakers

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

Link:

A father's influence instills sense of connection on Juneteenth - Tallahassee Democrat

manila, philippines

Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s national security adviser-designate has urged a stop to the dangerous and deadly practice of red-tagging, or labeling government critics and activists as communists or terrorists.

Clarita Carlos, a retired professor of political science, would become the first woman to hold the position of national security adviser (NSA) if confirmed, as expected, by July 1. Its a powerful post that oversees the countrys security and defense approach and is usually reserved for high-ranking military officials.

To the extent of my mandate as NSA, I would like to stop red-tagging, Carlos said in a recent TV interview after her appointment was announced, adding that it was a lazy, counterproductive practice.

Red-tagging in the Philippines is the practice by the military and police of branding human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other members of civil society who have been critical of the government. Some people who have been red-tagged have been harassed and have turned up dead.

The United Nations, expressing concern about the practice, has said it posed a serious threat to civil society and freedom of expression.

'It is not productive'

Carlos, if approved, will chair the National Security Council and be vice chair of the Anti-Terrorism Council. She advocates for a human security approach to solve the Philippines' decadeslong battle with a communist insurgency, the longest in Asia.

Lets stop red-tagging because it is not productive. Lets put our energies on the ground, addressing inequalities, lack of opportunities, Carlos said. If you prevent these people from becoming journalists scientists, if you kill their future, they will hold guns.

Carlos proposed plan, if she gets to implement it once in office, is a total reversal of President Rodrigo Dutertes policy, which saw a surge of red-tagging and the killing of activists totaling 318 people in 2021, according to a human rights group.

In 2018, Duterte formed and poured money into funding the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to counter the insurgency. The task force has been widely criticized for harassing activists, government critics and journalists.

Empirical evidence shows that the military route never works, so we should stop it. We look stupid doing the same things that do not work. We should do what works, Carlos said.

Human rights organizations have welcomed Carlos call to end red-tagging, but there are doubts she will get to have the last say on the matter.

As an academic with a nonmilitarist mindset, we can give her the benefit of the doubt. We hope, though, that the traffickers of red-tagging will not outmaneuver her sensible position in the end, said lawyer Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers.

Silence from Marcos, so far

But Olalia, whose organization has worked with people who have been red-tagged, jailed or killed by government security forces, doubts Marcos will heed Carlos call.

I doubt especially that [Marcos] has endorsed the NTF-ELCAC during the campaign, and he seems to be deafeningly silent on the issues of red-tagging and the Anti-Terrorism Act up to now. And he has to deal with many sponsors and practitioners of red-tagging around him, he said.

Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of rights group Karapatan (rights in Filipino), called on Carlos to advocate the abolition of the controversial NTF-ELCAC.

Aside from its notorious and dangerous red-tagging sprees, it has directed and incited several gross human rights violations numerous arrests and raids of progressive leaders and organizers and trumped-up charges against activists, Palabay told VOA.

But the challenge for Carlos, Palabay said, is to stand her ground and heed the calls to end NTF-ELCAC and red-tagging amid the overall framework of policies of Marcos Jr. and the military.

Similarly, Human Rights Watch called on Carlos to make good on her statement to end red-tagging.

What remains uncertain is whether her new boss, and the Philippines armed forces, will allow her to do that, once she is in office, HRW Philippines researcher Carlos Conde said.

Read the rest here:

New Marcos Administration Wants Red-Tagging to Stop - Voice of America - VOA News

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SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone.

It is wonderful to see everyone here today, particularly for this occasion. Susan, thank you very much, both for the introduction but also for what youre doing every day to really bring our diplomacy alive, to bring it to new generations of Americans. Were grateful for this. Its a remarkable project and one that were fully invested in, so thank you.

And Mr. President, its so good to have you again in Washington. We were just in Los Angeles days ago. Its wonderful to see you here. Its an opportunity, in a small way, for us to return the hospitality that youve extended to us over this past year and a half, including my own visit to Bogotlast year, and also to celebrate a truly joyous occasion. And maybe well do away with the microphone and Ill try and project. (Laughter.) The 200th anniversary of our bilateral relations that were celebrating today I guess were giving new meaning to Juneteenth next week as well.

And Mr. President, I really wanted to thank you again publicly, as I just did privately, for not just your participation in the Summit of the Americas, but for Colombias leadership in the Summit of the Americas. We got a lot done for the people of our hemisphere over those three days in Los Angeles, and in no small measure because of Colombias leadership, including on the migration declaration, which I may say a few additional words about in a few minutes. But that leadership, as always, was invaluable. Our partnership, as always, was invaluable. And Im grateful to you, President Biden is grateful to you, for that partnership.

Mr. Ambassador, Ambassador Pinzn, friends for a long time its great to have you here today; other colleagues from across the Government of Colombia: So I know this is only one in a series of events that have been organized to celebrate our 200 years. Were grateful to our colleagues from Colombia for actually, in a sense, hosting the event today, co-hosting it with us.

Our team in Bogot is also extremely active in organizing celebrations in multiple Colombian cities over the coming days.

And finally, let me say to our colleagues who are here from the Colombian and American private sectors: Thank you for being here today; thank you for your work every day to strengthen ties between our countries. The economic bonds that bind us together are strong and growing stronger, and of course, its a profound benefit to the people in both of our countries.

It is, I think, fitting that we are celebrating today at the National Museum of American Diplomacy. How are we doing? Lets see. (Laughter.) Its a rogue microphone. (Laughter.)

We have and I suspect the president will get into this as well a long history of being bound together, even before 1822, when our formal diplomatic relations began.

From 1806 to 1807, Simon Bolvar spent six months in the United States traveling the East Coast from Charleston, South Carolina, up to cities along the coast, before, of course, leading the independence movement in South America.

Beyond history, we, of course, have been and continue to be enriched immeasurably by Colombias culture the magical realism of Garcia Marquez, the art of Botero, the music of Shakira. (Laughter.) Colombia is said to be the land of a thousand rhythms; I suspect Shakira is responsible for 999. (Laughter.)

But to the point that Susan made and I think its really important this is a relationship that has remained strong over 200 years, even in the most challenging times, and that speaks volumes. A few decades ago, Colombias entire future was on the line, under assault from drug cartels and insurgent groups. Conflict ravaged the nation. Many Colombians endured violence or lived in fear of it. And of course, at that time huge unemployment as well, economic difficulties.

We came together the United States and Colombia and I see leaders of that effort in this room today. We undertook Plan Colombia. We ended half a century campaign to topple the Colombian Government, as well as a war that killed more than 200,000 people. Plan Colombia became Peace Colombia, and though many issues remain, Colombia has expanded access to education, to jobs, other social services in its rural areas, and to the countrys underserved communities, including Indigenous and Afro Colombian communities; reformed land laws; established institutions like the disappeared persons unit. Much work remains, but it is a remarkable thing, especially at a time of so much challenge around the world, to see the commitment the enduring commitment that Colombia has made to peace and progress.

Last month, we saw the strength of democracy in action. I think you had the highest turnout for the first round of presidential elections in memory. Regardless of the results, the United States looks forward to working with the next administration to continue the progress thats underway and the relationship that generations of our officials and our people have built together.

Let me just say a few words before turning it over to the president.

We are deepening our economic ties. Last month marked the 10-year anniversary of the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement that has helped double U.S. agricultural exports to Colombia, while making the United States the top importer of agricultural goods from Colombia.

Last week in Los Angeles, at the Summit of the Americas, President Biden announced the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity. We will work closely with countries across the region, including Colombia, to remove barriers to investment, to accelerate economic growth across our hemisphere, while ensuring that the gains of growth are more equitable because we know that even as our economies grow, so have gaps between the rich and poor, and were determined to address that.

Were advancing our shared security together. Our partnership over the years has allowed U.S. and Colombian security forces to work together. Ambassador Pinzn and I worked on this some years ago. We now see the benefits in the work Colombian security forces are doing to train others throughout the hemisphere. Colombia has become an exporter of security in our hemisphere, and that matters. The recent designation of Colombia with President Duque as a Major Non-NATO Ally will enhance this cooperation by helping our militaries work even closer together in the years ahead.

And this partnership, besides being a bilateral partnership, besides being a regional partnership, is increasingly a global partnership. Were working together on global challenges, like the climate crisis. We see the stakes of this in Colombias extraordinary natural beauty, from the snow-capped mountains in Los Nevados to the tropical rain forests in the south. Were working together to protect these and other diverse ecosystems across the country for example, through Amazonia Connect, also announced at the Summit of the Americas. This initiative will work to reduce deforestation across the Amazon the lungs of the hemisphere, and an unmatched source of biodiversity.

In my visit to Bogot last year, I had a chance to talk to a group of young Colombians, who asked me about several other areas where our countries work together, from creating safe pathways for migration to promoting understanding through culture and education.

So I had one conversation with someone from a much younger generation and a much more talented musical background. (Laughter.) Juan Carlos Mindinero is an Afro Colombian musician from Tumaco who told me about his work using music to promote peace and to address some of the most difficult issues in his community, like racism. His work reminded me in so many ways of the songs of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, which played such a key role in inspiring and mobilizing ordinary people to act.

And when it comes down to it, that is really one of the most beautiful things about democracy: ordinary citizens confronting the toughest challenges that we face out in the open. And ultimately, these dedicated citizens are what give me the most optimism for the future of the relationship between Colombia and the United States. People who believe in the bonds between our countries, who stand ready to continue to grow them, to make their own governments and the relationship between them even better, even stronger, in the years ahead. Thats what really drives this.

So let me simply say to everyone present, because in various ways virtually everyone here has been involved in this relationship, thank you for the commitment to this work. And simply put, Mr. President, friends and colleagues, here is to the continued friendship between Colombia and the United States. We could ask for no better partner, no better friend in the world.

Mr. President, over to you. (Applause.)

PRESIDENT DUQUE: Good afternoon. Its a great honor for me to be here at the State Department and especially at the Diplomacy Center. Thank you so much, Secretary Blinken, for your words, for your friendship, for your permanent support to Colombia. Susan, thank you so much for having us today. Ambassador Pinzn, Dr. Mara Paula Correa. My also special greetings to the panelists that were going to have this afternoon. Maureen, thank you. Joseph, Luis Alberto, and Marie Arana, a great writer who has written a lot about Latin Americas history. I also want to express my salute to the former ambassadors from the United States to Colombia. Speaker Boehner, its great to have you here with us.

And I would love to express, Mr. Secretary, that we feel very honored of this 200 years celebration. It has been 200 years of our relationship that has been driven by values, by common purpose, and obviously by principles. And I would like to make some references of a historical nature. The first one is that the flag that I have behind me yellow, blue, and red was designed by Francisco de Miranda. Francisco de Miranda designed that flag, and Francisco de Miranda, who has to always be considered as one of our founding fathers, was very close to General Lafayette, and he was pretty much inspired by the founding fathers of the United States. He was approached later in time by the leaders of the Liberty Society of Caracas to come back and fight for liberty. But before that, in 1807, Simn Bolvar departed from the Port of Cdiz and he was coming to the Americas with the idea of fighting for liberty. But instead of going directly to La Guaira that was the common trip that he would have made, he decided to stop in Charleston. And he remained in the United States for a few months, and it was during Thomas Jeffersons mandate.

About that trip, there are no important documents about what happened to Bolvar, with the exception that he ran out of money and his brother had to send some money, finding a carrier. But what is interesting is that years after, there was this amazing letter that Bolvar wrote to a Jamaican diplomat. And this has been recalled also by Professor John Lynch. And he said in the letter, During my short stay in the United States, I tasted the flavor of liberal democracy. Those were major words that also inspired Bolvar. And he fought for independence. We got our independence in 1819. Then he fought in the Venezuelan territory against Toms Boves. He finally also built the independence of Venezuela. And then he started the southern campaign.

But at the time when he started the southern campaign, he called for a former Spaniard that had turned himself into a New Granadan and a Colombian, Manuel Trujillo y Torres, to be appointed as a representative to the United States of America. He came to Washington. He was a very clever guy. He had this capacity to speak eloquently. And he started knocking everybodys doors in order to make the case for the recognition of Colombia by the United States of America. People who knew him describe him as the Colombian Franklin. And there are few historical records about him, and it is very common that he is always referred with that phrase. He was a Renaissance man, and he was a very persuasive man.

He got to constitute a very powerful friendship with John Quincy Adams, who was the secretary of state at the time. And he made such a strong case for the recognition that John Quincy Adams approached President Monroe, and President Monroe in 1822 signed the recognition ofla Gran Colombia, becoming the first former Spanish colony to be recognized as a state by the United States of America. And Manuel Trujillo y Torres was a big fan of Thomas Jefferson. He always mentioned that that great inscription in the Declaration of Independence, to hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, became a mantra that also inspired the abolition of slavery in our countries.

Since then, this relationship has always been stronger and stronger. And we remember always the first visit that a U.S. president did to Colombia, and it was FDR, who came to Cartagena. Then we also remember President Kennedys visit to Colombia, when he launched the Alliance for Progress with his good friend, Alberto Lleras Camargo. We remember Ronald Reagans visit to President Betancourt; President Bush 41, his visit to Colombia, where he also met with President Barco in the city of Cartagena. We remember the visit that President Clinton made to Colombia. And we also remember how, in times of despair, the United States came to us and said: We will support you. And thats how Plan Colombia was built. And Im very glad to see here Ambassador Pickering, who was also an architect of Plan Colombia.

At the time when Plan Colombia was approved, Colombia was considered at the brink of becoming a failed state. Twenty years after this policy that has been bipartisan and bicameral, Colombia has become the 37th member of the OECD. And that just clearly speaks about how this diplomatic effort, based on values and principles, has been able to change our diplomacy.

And also, after Plan Colombia, President Bush 43 decided to move forward the free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. Speaker Boehner, we remember all the big efforts in Congress, how this also became a bipartisan, bicameral effort. And it has opened many opportunities for us.

Then, during President Obamas administration, we got strong support from the United States in multiple fronts. We also finalized the putting in practice of the free trade agreement, and it marked a very important era for us. I remember as president how President Trump supported us in the midst of the pandemic, and how he also supported us to face the situation of the migrants in the border zone. And I have to express to you, Secretary Blinken, and to President Biden, my gratitude because you have saved millions of lives. You have become the largest donor of vaccines to Colombia in the midst of this pandemic. You have opened the accessibility of products to the United States like no other time before. And we have been able to work on climate action, the protection of the Amazon, the protection of the migrants and it all came together in multiple ways.

First, bringing our diplomatic relations to the highest peak ever by declaring Colombia a strategic non-NATO member ally, which means Colombia is today among the few countries that have that kind of recognition. But also, being able to work along, as we did last week in Los Angeles, in two major policies: the migration declaration of L.A., which out of the complex noise that we have on permanent politics is one of the most important statements ever in a summit to describe by all ourselves that we need to treat migration with a sense of fraternity, as we have done when 1.8 million Venezuelan brothers and sisters, Ambassador Vecchio one million already have their TPS cards in their hands.

And the other very important statement the launching of the economic prosperity framework by President Biden. This can become as important as the Alliance for Progress because it can bring investment back to the Americas, thinking on the opportunities that we have with North America; and it can be an effective deterrent of migration driven by lack of opportunities. This will open opportunities for many Latin Americans. And we also believe that its an opportunity to bring U.S. investment back in issues such as infrastructure, 5G networks, renewable energies, among many others.

So I consider that what we built last week was very important, and I feel proud that we were very much cohesive, the countries that participated. And we remembered that if there were reasons why some countries were not there, its because in 2001, when we signed the Inter-American Democratic Charter, we also signed the Protocol of Quebec. That protocol established that the summits are not spaces for dictatorships, and that will never be a space for dictatorships. (Applause.)

So, Mr. Secretary, I feel so honored that today were celebrating these 200 years of this relationship in a very special day that I want to bring to your attention. It was in June 15, 1952, that Colombian troops entered South Korea. Colombia was the only Latin American country that participated in the Korean War, and we came with a contingent of more than 5,000 troops, which can be called Ambassador Pinzn, whos a military expert, has said that it could have been more than 40 percent of the Colombian army at the time. And those soldiers came there hand by hand to participate with the United States in saving the South Korean democracy. And no country would have done that if it wasnt because we share those values, those objectives, and those purposes.

I believe that this celebration is an opportunity for keep on strengthening our ties, and we will remain the most important ally for the United States in the Western Hemisphere. We will continue to differentiate ourselves, by embracing democracy, with autocracies with pleasure and we will also remain united to protect those in need, especially the migrant communities in our country that have left the horrible impact of the Maduro dictatorship.

Secretary Blinken, you have been a friend of Colombia, you are a friend of Colombia, and I want to express my gratitude to all the diplomatic corps of the U.S. State Department here today. You have to always see the relationship between Colombia with the United States as an example of what bipartisan, bicameral policies can do and what bipartisan diplomacy can do. I definitely want to express to each one of you, thank you for doing so much for our country.

And with your permission, Secretary Blinken, I would love to close my remarks by asking Ambassador Tom Pickering to join us here to impose him the 200 years condecoration to celebrate this 200 years anniversary between Colombia and the United States for (applause) to an example of one of the greatest minds in U.S. diplomacy. You have been an ambassador in many places around the world, in complex scenarios, Dr. Pickering, but as the president of Colombia, we have to thank you for being one of the brightest minds who created Plan Colombia, and we can say that because of Plan Colombia, we are today in a much better shape in a country of law and order and opportunities.

And Ill finish by saying the following: In my last four years, I have been honored with being the president of my country, fighting every day for the good of our people. We passed a pandemic. Out of 48 months of my administration, 30 months will be facing a pandemic. But were leaving Colombia with the highest growth ever, with the lowest multidimensional poverty ever reached by Colombia, with the lowest job informality rate, being a country that delivers on an energy transition, and a country that is considered today one of the most important places for start-ups in the region. Obviously, we still have challenges, but none of the things that we have achieved would have not been achieved without the support of an ally such as the United States of America.

So Ambassador Pickering, Im going to impose this condecoration. I invite Secretary Blinken to join me here.

(A decree was read.)

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Colombian President Ivn Duque Mrquez at the 200th Anniversary of US-Colombian Relations Celebration - United States...