Spanish Florida joins culmination for 400 Years of African American History in Equatorial Guinea
New York City man who rowed across Atlantic Ocean from Canary Islands to the Brooklyn Bridge, buries time capsule in Africa's only Spanish speaking country.
Senior government officials from Equatorial Guinea, clergy and others will participate and contribute historic artifacts for this ceremony.
Mooney will also recognize the enslaved Africans that history records arriving in Spanish Florida1. Today, this region is called St. Augustine in the State of Florida.
Historical records document the presence of Black slaves dating back to their arrival in 1565.
The theme for H.R. 1242 Resilience Project is called: 400 Years, Resilience, Faith, Healing and Partnership.
In the midst of this global COVID-19 pandemic, it's a priviledge to culminate the 400 Years in Equatorial Guinea and encourage people to never give up, said Don Victor Mooney from his hotel room in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
H.R. 1242 Resilience Project has collected letters, flags, books, artifacts, coins, photos, and a bottle of Snapple for the time capsule. A small representation of cotton, tobacco, and sugar, which fueled the transatlantic slave trade is included as well.
At his fourth try2, Mooney departed from Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, in Spain’s Canary Islands on February 19, 2014. Twenty-one months later, Mooney and Spirit of Malabo [El Espíritu de Malabo3] landed at Brooklyn Bridge on November 29, 2015. Mooney became the first African American to row across any ocean.
Mooney's boat was sponsored by Equatorial Guinea with the personal support of His Excellency, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Head of State.
His mission was to encourage HIV testing and honor those two million that died during transatlantic slave crossing, commonly called the Middle Passage and the 12 million people kidnaped into slavery. Those that survived would work for free on plantations in the America's and Caribbean.
Being a Black man, I just had to get across to the other side, added, Mooney.
Equatorial Guinea marks their 52nd year of Independence on October 12 from Spain. Mooney’s Brazilian made rowboat was christened, the Spirit of Malabo. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Mooney and the Spirit of Malabo anchored in St. Augustine, Florida inside the Intercoastal Way (ICW).
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals. Some like the Great Dismal Swamp were hand dug by slaves. Today, ICW it provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea.
For the enslaved, wherever there was a waterway, it was an escape route from the bondages of slavery.
On the net: www.hr1242resilience.com, www.goreechallenge.com
Hashtags: #400years, #Resilience, #Faith, #Healing, #Partnership, #ExtremeFaith, #EquatorialGuinea, #GuineaEcuatorial, #400años, #Spain, #España, #CanaryIslands, #LasPalmas, #Maspalomas, #GranCanaria, #NeverGiveUp
Lisa Samuels
H.R. 1242 Resilience Project
+1 347-674-3238
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WATCH NOW: Great Dismal Swamp at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blfDTNk8sfM
1 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/12/16/american-slavery-traces-roots-st-augustine-florida-not-jamestown/4205417002/
2 https://apnews.com/991f3f9911b844a1a0e245fed62ade4c
3 https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/en-espanol/sdhoy-estadounidense-que-cruza-a-remo-el-atlantico-2015nov28-story.html