CAIR to Mark Juneteenth with Month-Long Photo Journal of Muslim Activists on Alabama Civil Rights Tour

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today launched the "Alabama Civil Rights Tour Photo Journal Project." CAIR's month-long campaign will share one image per day, along with personal reflections, from an educational tour taken recently by the civil rights organization's staff. #AlabamaPilgrimage #Juneteenth2018

To view the first photo and reflection, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/photos/a.92140837694.89999.42590232694/10155832411417695/

In the first post, CAIR-NJ's Abdul Mubarak-Rowe wrote:

"I have to be honest. I wasn't sure whether I was emotionally prepared to confront this brutal legacy that was so raw and uncompromising in its brutal detail. These pilgrimages to these sacred sights aren't for the faint of heart. It is overwhelming in its horrific detail but absolutely necessary in order to ensure that one never forget what occurred here. Do not let your children and grandchildren forget."

CAIR's photo journal project coincides with "Juneteenth," or "Freedom Day," commemorating the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas; the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

During the CAIR civil rights tour, some 30 American Muslim civil rights leaders and activists from around the country traveled to Alabama to visit sites of historical significance during the civil rights movement. Sites visited included the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and 16th Street Baptist Church. The group also attended the inauguration of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala.

Each day's photo and accompanying reflection will be posted to CAIR's social media platforms beginning on Juneteenth (June 19) and continuing for a month.

SEE: CAIR Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/cairnational
CAIR Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/@cairnational
CAIR Instagram Page: www.instagram.com/cair_national   

The CAIR photos and reflections can be tracked on social media using the hashtag #AlabamaPilgrimage

To find other Juneteenth related posts, follow the hashtag #Juneteenth2018.

"This educational project is an effort to center the struggle for civil rights in our nation as one led primarily by our African-American sisters and brothers, and to uplift those voices across diverse communities," said CAIR National Chapter Manager Asma Rehman.

She noted that CAIR is set to release a documentary film that follows the journey of the American Muslim leaders as they walk the path of civil rights icons like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., learning about connections between slavery, the civil rights movement and Islamophobia, all culminating in the emotional grand opening of the first memorial to the thousands of African-Americans lynched in America.

"For those of us organizing our communities in the South, the specter of racial injustice continues to haunt us," said CAIR-Alabama Government Affairs Coordinator Ali Massoud. "From police-involved shootings, to mass incarceration, to electoral disenfranchisement, this journey showed us that our nation's present condition exists because we remain unable to honestly confront our past."

"It has been some time since we returned from our deeply-impactful pilgrimage to Alabama and witnessed the histories of the people who came before us and paved the way for the work we now continue to do," said CAIR-Massachusetts Youth Empowerment Coordinator Sumaiya Zama. "Since returning, we've been thinking deliberately about ways to ensure that our experience transcends us as a small group and manifests into an important conversation among our fellow Americans."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

CONTACT: CAIR-National Chapter Manager Asma Rehman, [email protected]; CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, [email protected], 202-744.7226

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)