Module 6: Hosting an Observance
Statement of Observance
As a contribution to your observance event, we offer the following statement of observance, which succinctly states why we gather for this anniversary. You can include this statement in any number of ways: in your program, as a poster at the event or a statement read aloud during your observance.
Listen to a reading of the Statement of Observance here:
Listen to a reading of the Statement of Observance here:
Statement of Observance
Today we gather in a place where inequality still prevails.
We gather here in 2019 to remember the story of this place, and to think of other times and other places.
We remember that 400 years ago Africans were brought to the English Colony of Virginia and sold into bondage.
We remember that those Africans were forced to work land stolen from the Native People.
We remember that white workers, men, and women, were forced into indentured servitude.
We see that from those roots was built ecology of inequality, and we know we don’t want to live in the House of White Supremacy.
Therefore, on this day, we lift up this place.
We acknowledge this land and the sovereignty of the people who have lived here*.
We lift up all the ancestors who have struggled for justice, and in their memory, we proclaim that we are the history of a just future.
*We encourage you to acknowledge the people indigenous to the land on which you hold your observance. https://native-land.ca/ is a helpful resource for naming tribal land, understanding land acknowledgment, and the steps that can be taken beyond acknowledgment.
Today we gather in a place where inequality still prevails.
We gather here in 2019 to remember the story of this place, and to think of other times and other places.
We remember that 400 years ago Africans were brought to the English Colony of Virginia and sold into bondage.
We remember that those Africans were forced to work land stolen from the Native People.
We remember that white workers, men, and women, were forced into indentured servitude.
We see that from those roots was built ecology of inequality, and we know we don’t want to live in the House of White Supremacy.
Therefore, on this day, we lift up this place.
We acknowledge this land and the sovereignty of the people who have lived here*.
We lift up all the ancestors who have struggled for justice, and in their memory, we proclaim that we are the history of a just future.
*We encourage you to acknowledge the people indigenous to the land on which you hold your observance. https://native-land.ca/ is a helpful resource for naming tribal land, understanding land acknowledgment, and the steps that can be taken beyond acknowledgment.
Click below to download a PDF version of the statement:
Share your Observance
After you have developed your observance, anchored it in a location, and set a date, join the 400 Years community online by sharing your observance with others at www.400yearsofinequality.org.
Click the button below to share your observance:
After you have developed your observance, anchored it in a location, and set a date, join the 400 Years community online by sharing your observance with others at www.400yearsofinequality.org.
Click the button below to share your observance:
Sharing your observance will invite the larger 400 Years community to experience your observance and inspire others to host their own.
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