At the time of its founding, the mission of The Ukrainian Weekly – indeed the reason for its existence – was dual: to keep Ukrainian American youth involved in the Ukrainian community and to disseminate to the English-speaking world the truth about Ukraine, including news emerging from Ukraine about Stalin’s Holodomor that was killings millions in our ancestral homeland.
Heeding the advice of Svoboda Editor-in-Chief Dr. Luke Myshuha and recognizing the needs of the Ukrainian community at the time, the Ukrainian National Association began publishing The Weekly to reach those who could not read its Ukrainian-language newspaper. The Ukrainian Weekly and its pioneering editor Stephen Shumeyko knew that what matters most is a Ukrainian heart and soul; therefore, there must be a place within the Ukrainian nation for those sons and daughters who do not know Ukrainian.
The Ukrainian Weekly has played a crucial role in reporting developments in Ukraine, whether that was back in the 1930s, when our homeland was subjugated by foreign powers, or today, 27 years after Ukraine re-established its independence.
Since its founding in 1933 to the present day, The Weekly has served all readers who are interested in Ukraine and Ukrainians, including members of the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities, Ukrainians around the globe, scholars interested in Ukrainian affairs, policy-makers and opinion leaders. This newspaper is well aware of its role in representing Ukrainian Americans and their concerns, as members of the U.S. Congress and their staffs read and rely on The Ukrainian Weekly. Since early 1991 – that’s before Ukraine re-established its independence – The Weekly’s Ukrainian American journalists have reported major news developments from Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Weekly has always been a powerful force in our Ukrainian community in North America. Through the decades, it has rallied community members behind Ukrainian national causes, such as the defense of human rights activists in the USSR, the ultimate goal of independence for Ukraine, the erection of a monument in Washington to Taras Shevchenko, the international recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide and the dedication of the Holodomor Memorial in Washington.
On behalf of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly of the Ukrainian National Association Inc., I greet the editors and correspondents of The Ukrainian Weekly on this auspicious anniversary. Congratulations on your efforts through the 85 years of The Ukrainian Weekly’s illustrious history.
Mnohaya lita and continued success for the good of our diaspora community and the Ukrainian nation!