Campaign to Designate Houston the City of Legendary Hospitality.
In America and across the globe, something happened that though most people would rather forget, casts a shadow around us and compromises our commitment to a more inclusive world.
In populations that were disproportionately color, colonization brought loss and grief on a scale never known. From the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, segregation, apartheid, lynching, genocide, ferocious wars against decolonization, and extra judicial assassinations - millions of people were killed just because they showed too much dignity, too much humanity, and just wanted to be respected as human beings.
In fact, some of the first victims of colonization – indigenous native Americans were slaughtered in Houston, when it was a Spanish colony of the New World.
This campaign is a transformative solidarity effort to galvanize support for the creation of the world’s first and only tribute of remembrance to honor millions of people killed around the world during the horrific chapter of colonization.
We strongly believe that the brutal killing of innocent men, women, and children through centuries of racial terrorism was wrong, unjust and the effects are still visible.
To meaningfully restore the dignity of those who were so mercilessly stripped of it, soil which we believe symbolically contains the sweat and blood of innocent men, women and children will be collected in jars from sites where colonial massacres and genocide took place across the world. Engraved with names and locations ,the soil will be transferred to the United Nations Colonization Memorial (UNCM),where a giant candle will be burning at the heart of the memorial in their honor.
The soil which bears witness to millions that have been seared in the flames of withering injustice will transform UNCM into hallowed ground, connect this generation to past generations and help people of every color and creed to acknowledge the ugly history of racial injustice, reconcile its painful legacy, and start the process of healing the emotional wounds of descendant communities.
During the National Day celebration of UN member states that were former colonies, the flags of these countries will be brought down to half-staff amidst an annual reading of victims’ names and a wreath laying ceremony by high-ranking dignitaries.
Once the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas, a place with a history of segregation and lynching - where enslaved Black people were forced to labor in bondage, Houston is now the most diverse city in the United States with over 145 languages spoken, and nearly one-in-four residents foreign-born.
As the largest city in the state of Texas, the third largest in the nation, space, and energy capital of the world, it is only befitting that the world’s first and only colonization memorial be constructed in Houston - a place in the Deep South that has made great strides in race relations.
With all UN member countries/non-member observer states that were former colonies –totaling more than 80 percent of the entire world represented in the memorial; with the blood and sweat of victims of colonization from around the world; with a giant candle burning 24/7 in their honor; with sculptures, arts, and designs to contextualize colonization and its legacy of racial injustice; with annual wreath laying ceremonies by high-ranking dignitaries, this famous tourist attraction will bring millions of visitors to the shores of Houston - providing jobs, and boosting revenue to local businesses. This will lead to an upswing in international and domestic tourism spending, significantly contributing to the city’s travel and tourism industry – one of the most important drivers of the Texas economy.
Beside calling the world to acknowledgement, to repentance and to healing, UNCM will crown Houston the World’s City of Legendary Hospitality.
To get involved in the campaign to designate Houston the city of legendary hospitality, email: info@uncm.org