SF NAACP President Officiates 36th Jonestown Memorial, AFSU Dr. T’Shaka Speaks

Nearly thirty-six years ago, one of the worst case of human rights abuse in modern American History occurred in the hot jungles of Jonestown Guyana.

Afterwards, funeral directors in Delaware struggled to quickly bury and cremate the decomposing remains of more than 900 people who died at the orders of Jim Jones in a mass murder-suicide.

Some bodies that arrived back in the US at Dover Air Force Base in 1978 were claimed by families. Some were cremated. Almost half were buried in a mass grave in California, where we hold the Official Jonestown Memorial Services.

In August of this year, in a shocking discovery, officials revealed that not all victims had been brought to a final resting place. The cremated remains of nine Jonestown victims were discovered in a decrepit, now-shuttered funeral home in Dover. The ashes of the victims were found neatly packaged and clearly marked, with the names of the deceased and place of their death included on accompanying death certificates in the former Minus Funeral Home, where a bank now operates.

The shocking discovery reopened wounds. Our family lost 27 relatives in Jonestown, including my mother. After all of the murders ordered by Jim Jones, his true supporters have tried to discount our claim and have made other false implications about the communities efforts to honor the lost with a fitting memorial. But this painful history cannot be erased and my family’s pain remains very real.

Although, I was never a member of People’s Temple, our family lost the most relatives and the youngest child, 3-month-old Charles Garry Henderson, in the massacre. As a teenager, I opposed Jones from the start and ended up kidnapping my son who was being raised in the Temple while I traveled as an evangelist. This initiated backlash and death threats from Jones and his followers.

With these latest disclosures, I painfully wondered when this nightmare and madness would end. For over three decades, our organization has worked to honor and build a memorial to the 305 innocent children, adult victims and Congressman Leo Ryan and his team.

Needless to say, on May 29, 2011, when a coalition group led by Jim Jones’ sons and former hierarchy, memorialized Jim Jones alongside the 918 lives he murdered, I was stunned.

The deaths of 305 innocent Children, over 600 American Citizens, Congressman Leo Ryan and his news team in 1978 (at the hands of a madman) should have been the focus of a coalition of outraged human beings, concerned with Civil and Human Rights abuses worldwide.

So should this memorial or wall of shame inscribed with Jim Jones’ name.

The Jewish Community would never insult the memory of their deceased by inscribing Hitler’s name alongside of his victims under the guise of forgiveness. Holocaust memorials are being established all over Europe – Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and other major cities, and suggest a greater public awareness.

Likewise, we believe it is an insult to the memories of those deceased for Jim Jones to be honored and immortalized alongside the innocent victims of this terrible tragedy. Only now that we have passed through it are we truly cognoscente of the dangers of extreme beliefs, mind control and the cults they incubate represent.

As long as Jim Jones’ name is on the memorial that sits on the mass grave in Oakland, THE VICTIMS HAVE NOT TRULY NOT BEEN LAID TO REST.

You are cordially invited to join us in our Official Annual 36th Memorial Service to honor those who could not escape Jones terrorist concentration camp. Even though Jim Jones spread lies and had his congregants to lie on Congressman Leo Ryan and others, Rep. Ryan still fought to help the victims. He lost his life trying to protect over 900 American Citizens Civil and Human Rights and free them from the jungles of Jonestown, Guyana.

Will you help us make a difference and honor your late colleague, Congressman Leo Ryan?

America cannot be painted as a nation that honors murderers of Congress and children.

* Provide us with a Proclamation or Letter of Support for our Memorial Services by 11/14/14.

The Official 36th Annual Jonestown Memorial for the 305 Innocent Children, Congressman Leo Ryan and over 600 victims will be held:

Sincerely,

Dr. Jynona Norwood, Rev. Eugene Lumpkin, Rev. Ed Norwood

“Please accept my best wishes and my deepest gratitude for your efforts to honor the memory of the innocent children and all those who died during the tragic Jonestown Massacre. Cherishing the Children Memorial Wall will provide a place of comfort and solace….”

“Therefore, I support your efforts and applaud your perseverance. Most importantly, I humbly acknowledge your loss. Once again, thank you for all of the work you are doing to create this memorial and your commitment to those in our community most in need.”

“I wish to commend President Jynona Norwood and the Advisory Committee for your commitment to the memorial of those who died in Jonestown. I especially appreciate and support your efforts to develop the Cherish the Children Memorial Wall. The children in Jonestown were completely and absolutely innocent victims of the misguided and dangerous events. It is an insult to the memories of those deceased for Rev. Jim Jones to be honored and immortalized alongside the real victims of this tragedy.”

Honorary Committee: Mayor Willie L. Brown, SF, Yvonne Braithwaite Burke Supervisor, Mayor Roosevelt Dorn, Dianne Feinstein, Senator, Rev. Julius C. Hope, NAACP, Rev. Timothy McDonald President AAMLC, Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith Archdioceses, LA, Mark Ridley Thomas, Congresswoman Diane E. Watson, Rev. Mark Whitlock

Advisory Committee: Rev. Eugene Lumpkin, Treasurer, Bishop H. H. Brookins, Dr .Amos Brown, NAACP, Rev. Edgar Boyd, 1st AME, Senator John Ford, Dick Gregory, Mayor Elihu Harris, Moses Mayne, Rev. James Mc Cray, Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, Gail E. Neira, S.F Republican Central Committeewoman, Rev. Ed Norwood, Rev. Rebecca Pollock, Rev. Dr. Al Sampson, Dr. Aurelious Walker, Speaker. Herb J. Wesson, Officer Yulanda Williams SFPD

Persons who support our petition of not honoring Jim Jones: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Dr. Dick Gregory, Dr. Amos Brown, Rev. Eugene Lumpkin, Dr. Edgar Boyd, Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, Rev. Leonard Jackson, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Kol Tikvah Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Jr., Dr. Al Sampson, Father Michael Pfleger, Rev. Timothy McDonald, Mr. Oscar Wright, Dr. Barbara Williams, Professor Oba T’Shaka, Moses Mayne, Rev. Ed Norwood, Kola Thomas, Rev. Mervin J. Redmond, Sr., St. John Missionary Baptist Church, San Francisco Dr. Frank & Hurdis Bozeman.