Board of Supervisors Chairman James Icenhour, Jr. formally presented a Proclamation, on July 23 during the Board's Work Session, to Mr. Kojo Yankah and members of the delegation from the Jamestown District in Accra, Ghana.
FROM JAMESTOWN TO JAMESTOWN: HONORING OUR SHARED HISTORIES AND
UNITED FUTURES – JUNE 18, 2019
James City County recognizes and celebrates the connection between the Jamestown District in Accra, Ghana and the historic Jamestown Island in James City County, Virginia. We acknowledge our shared British colonial pasts, and the settlements that have had such a profound impact on our communities.
WHEREAS, James City County is located where explorers established the first successful English colony in the New World in 1607; and
WHEREAS, Jamestown, Ghana, as it came to be known, after the erection of James Fort by the British in 1673; and
WHEREAS, 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans brought to Virginia, and Jamestown, Ghana was one of many locations in West Africa where the slave trade originated; and
WHEREAS, both Jamestown sites have since recognized and learned from the atrocities of the past; and
WHEREAS, both Jamestown sites have now grown to become thriving, vibrant communities that rely heavily on the culture and connectivity grown from those histories; and
WHEREAS, the tourism industry and sense of place of both Jamestown locations is a benefit to the larger cities of Accra and James City County respectively; and
WHEREAS, Kojo Yankah is Founder and former President of the African University College of Communications (AUCC), based in Accra Ghana. He is also a scholar, journalist, author and former Member of Parliament & Minister of State in the Republic of Ghana; and
WHEREAS, the Honorable Mr. Yankah is currently working on his next book From Jamestown to Jamestown highlighting our shared histories.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of James City County, Virginia, hereby proclaim the 18th day of June to be, and is hereby proclaimed as,
From Jamestown to Jamestown Day
in the County of James City, and call upon all citizens to join in the observance of this occasion and extend the hand of fellowship and hospitality.
IN WITNESS, WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the County of James City, Virginia, to be affixed this 18th day of June, 2019.
Media Contact:
Jason Purse, Assistant County Administrator
757-253-6604; jason.purse@jamescitycountyva.gov