May 24, 1940, is a historic date in the history of the Ukrainian community in the United States. On that day, on the initiative of the four Ukrainian fraternal benefit societies – the Ukrainian National Association, Ukrainian Workingmen’s Association, Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics and Ukrainian National Aid Association – 805 delegates from 1,425 organizations, large and small, met in Washington to establish a broadly based representation of Ukrainian Americans. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America was born. Svoboda’s editorial commented: “The Ukrainian community in America …passed an exam of its political maturity. It manifested its relationship to America, the American government and its policies, as well as to the ideals that are the foundation of order in this country. Similarly, the community demonstrated its relationship to Ukraine and to the Ukrainian nation in Europe.”
The new organization’s Memorandum stated in its preamble: “Having duly considered the plight of the Ukrainian people in their native but foreign-occupied and enslaved Ukraine, we, representatives of American-Ukrainian political, fraternal and cultural organizations, convened in the Congress of American Ukrainians in Washington on Friday, May 24, 1940, do regard it our privilege and duty, at this time when our kinsmen over there are gagged by their oppressors, to take a stand in defense of their right to free and independent national existence, and to declare that the Ukrainian people will never cease their centuries-old struggle until they have achieved the establishment of a free, independent and democratic state of Ukraine.”
The UCCA, which today describes itself as “the largest organized representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent,” has many achievements to its credit. Among them are: establishment of the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee; U.S. government recognition of Captive Nations Week; promoting passage of the public law that allowed a monument to Taras Shevchenko to be erected in Washington; publication of The Ukrainian Quarterly; fighting against Soviet human and national rights violations; and relentless work on countless pieces of legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, including the Ukraine Freedom Support Act.
Yes, the UCCA has had its ups and downs – the most recent among the latter being its 1980 congress, which saw the walkout of 20 member organizations in protest against one grouping’s heavy-handed tactics to seize control of the proceedings and the organization itself. Since then, of course, the UCCA has worked to reunite the Ukrainian American community, and many of the organizations that had quit their membership have since rejoined the UCCA (among them our publisher, the Ukrainian National Association). But some major organizations have not, opting to stay independent while working with the UCCA on projects of common interest, such as the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, for the good of the entire Ukrainian American community.
Five years ago, on May 20, 2015, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America celebrated its 75th anniversary with a reception on Capitol Hill. Present were a large number of representatives of Ukrainian American organizations and clergy, as well as officials of the U.S. and Ukrainian governments, diplomats of foreign embassies and leaders of other ethnic American organizations. Significantly, among the participants were three former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine, two former presidents of the UCCA and the president of the Ukrainian World Congress. Our Washington correspondent, Yaro Bihun, reported: “As they praised and thanked the UCCA for the positive work it has done since its founding in 1940 for the benefit of its community, Ukraine and the United States, much of the focus of remarks by speakers, including five members of the U.S. Congress, was also on what the United States and other Western countries are and should be doing to help Ukraine during its current crisis with Russia.”
To be sure, this year’s anniversary celebration is different – it’s virtual, another example of the effect the coronavirus has had on our lives. (See the announcement from the UCCA on page 5 of this issue that informs readers how they can participate online.) The focus of the gathering, however, is sure to be the same as that five years ago, with kudos for the UCCA and its achievements, as well as comments about Russia’s continued war on Ukraine, now beginning its seventh year.
The UCCA today continues to live up to its founding principles, representing the Ukrainian American community’s myriad concerns and serving as an advocate for our ancestral homeland. On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, we salute the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America for the leading role it has played through the decades. And, we will surely join others in raising a virtual toast to the UCCA’s illustrious founders on May 24, 2020.