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Jamaicans in Washington, D.C. Virginia, and Maryland Get Ready for Independence

July 28, 2009

The Full Story

Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica residing in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland in the USA, have moved into celebration mode, with a number of official events planned to mark Jamaica’s 47th year of Independence.
Over the next three weeks, the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington D.C., under the leadership of His Excellency, Ambassador Anthony Johnson, will be engaged in several activities with support from a number of leading Jamaican organisations.
The festivities kick off on Emancipation Day, Saturday (Aug. 1) with a ball organised by the Jamaican Association of Maryland at Martins West, Baltimore, commencing at 7:00 p.m.
Ambassador Johnson will deliver the keynote address at that event, where the Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Professor E. Albert Reece, will be conferred with the Marcus Garvey Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Award.
The Dunbarton Chapel at Howard University’s School of Law is the venue for the annual Service of Thanksgiving, which will be held on Sunday, August 9, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Right Rev. Dr. E. Don Taylor, Vicar Bishop of New York, will be the chief celebrant. Members of the diplomatic corps; Washington D.C. Mayor, Adrian Fenty; members and representatives of the United States Congress, will join Jamaicans at the service.
Immediately after the church service, Ambassador Johnson will stage an afternoon of ‘Music and Dance’ at the Organisation of American States (OAS) Hall of the Americas, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Jamaica’s top show and dance band, ‘Fabulous Five’, will provide entertainment, with popular emcee Jerry D.
The curtains come down on the Independence festivities with a celebration at the Science Museum of Virginia on August 22, beginning at 8:00 p.m. Organised by the Jamaican Association of Virginia, this evening affair will be preceded by a flag-raising ceremony at 2:00 p.m., with Ambassador Johnson bringing greetings and delivering the Prime Minister’s message.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to stage these events, along with our partners and friends, who have helped to make Jamaica the wonderful country that it is,” said Ambassador Johnson.
“We look forward to continuing the tradition of sharing the Jamaican spirit in the years to come and we encourage all of our friends to embrace this year’s theme ‘I Believe in Jamaica’ and join us in the upcoming celebrations,” he added.
He thanked sponsors Digicel, Grace Remittance, Bert Smith & Co., P.A. Benjamin, Development Bank of Jamaica, and Washington D.C. Housing Commissioner, David Watson, for their tremendous contributions to the events.

Last Updated: August 26, 2013

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