As part of a year-long worldwide commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor, the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor Genocide Awareness (U.S. Holodomor Committee) is working with national Ukrainian American organizations and local communities across the United States to raise public awareness about the genocidal famine of 1932-1933. To succeed, this effort needs participation from every Ukrainian community, including small and recently established communities of Ukrainian immigrants and Ukrainian Americans.
Since the U.S. Holodomor Committee’s inception in 2006 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide, important milestones have been achieved. For example, the U.S. Holodomor Committee supported the dedication of the Holodomor Memorial that was unveiled on November 7, 2015, on federal land in Washington.
The 85th anniversary commemoration year was launched in November of 2017 with a service at the Holodomor Memorial followed by a panel discussion at the U.S. Capitol. Commemorative events in many other cities followed, including in New York, where the March for Remembrance proceeded from St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where a memorial program was held.
Holodomor activities this year have taken a variety of forms, ranging from an academic symposium at California State University in Fresno and a trip to the Michigan state capital in Lansing by the Detroit community to petition the inclusion of the Holodomor in the state Genocide Studies curriculum, to a meeting with the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania after unanimous passage of a Holodomor resolution in the state Senate and the Boston community’s endeavor to mandate a Holodomor curriculum via legislation.
A special effort supported by both the U.S. Holodomor Committee and Embassy of Ukraine aims to equip local Ukrainian communities to approach governors and state legislatures in all 50 states to issue proclamations and resolutions recognizing the Holodomor as genocide. The first proclamation has been signed by the governor of Wisconsin. To date, resolutions have been passed in Oregon, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Washington and Pennsylvania.
First Lady Maryna Poroshenko of Ukraine delivers the keynote address at the Holodomor Memorial dedication ceremony on November 7, 2015.
With the 85th anniversary activities well under way, the U.S. Holodomor Committee is holding monthly conference calls with representatives from Ukrainian organizations and Holodomor committee leads from Ukrainian communities across the country in order to coordinate efforts and share best practices. All communities and organizations are requested to join and coordinate activities.
Ukrainian communities are being called to action, to take specific steps toward further recognition of the Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people perpetrated by the Soviet Union. The U.S. Holodomor Committee is here to help, assist and advise. Communities may:
• Request a Holodomor proclamation from your governor. The U.S. Holodomor Committee has a template for your use.
• Work with your state representative to submit a resolution recognizing the Holodomor anniversary. The U.S. Holodomor Committee has a template for your use.
• Display a Holodomor exhibit, preferably in a government or educational institution. The U.S. Holodomor Committee will help with arrangements for an exhibit.
• Attract local media coverage about your Holodomor event. The committee can forward sample media alerts and press kits to help prepare them. Various informational materials are available.
• Place op-eds (opinion pieces published opposite newspapers’ editorials) in your local newspapers. Interviews with Holodo-mor survivors or their children make powerful statements, and their stories must be told.
• Make the Holodomor part of your local high school curriculum. We have many good teachers and principals within our communities who can initiate such actions.
• Organize meetings in states throughout the country during a National Holodomor Advocacy Day on Wednesday, May 2. The goal is to advocate for statewide recognition of the Holodomor through proclamations and resolutions and mandate a Holodomor curriculum in high schools.
• Support the mini-documentary “While We Starve,” which depicts the physiological and mental stages of hunger. Produced by the U.S. Holodomor Committee in conjunction with the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA), the 20-minute documentary will be available in the spring of this year.
• Participate in a campaign to revoke the Pulitzer Prize granted to New York Times reporter Walter Duranty.
• Visit the U.S. Holodomor Committee’s new website at www.ukrainegenocide.com for more information on the Holodomor and activities around the country.
• Share on social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please send your photos, links to articles, and other information about your events and milestones.
• Donate your time and resources to make Holodomor awareness prominent throughout the United States. Donations may be sent to: U.S. Holodomor Committee, 311 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Lower Level, Washington, DC 20002.
The U.S. Holodomor Committee also has various Holodomor-related items for sale to help defray costs of the aforementioned projects. Items available include an iWallet that can be affixed to the back of a mobile phone and holds ID and credit cards; Holodomor pins and wristbands; and the Holodomor Memorial dedication book.
To initiate a campaign in your city, join the conference calls, or purchase Holodo-mor-related items for your community, readers may contact the U.S. Holodomor Committee at [email protected].
Remember our theme as we work together to expand worldwide awareness of this terrible tragedy: “Ukraine Remembers – The World Acknowledges!”