Credit:  By Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times /    Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the United Nations General Assembly, leads students from Roselle Catholic High School (NJ) on tour of the Ark of Return and reflected on the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade at UN world headquarters in New York  Jan. 31, 2020, as part of the UN’s celebration of Black History Month for February. 

By Gary Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS   –     NEW  YORK –  The United Nations is offering a special Black History Month tour for the month of February.   Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the UN General Assembly, welcomed the first UN’s tour participants on Friday of a group of students from Roselle Catholic High School (NJ) on a  tour of the Ark of Return and reflected on the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade at  world headquarters in New York.   The Ark, located in the UN Visitor’s Plaza,  is inviting people to contemplate the legacy of the slave trade and to fight against racism and prejudice. 

Credit:  By Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times /    Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the United Nations General Assembly, arrives to greet students participating in the UN’s first group of tours commemorating  Black History Month (February) at UN world headquarters in New York Jan. 31, 2020.   H.E.  Muhammad-Bande,  is a Nigerian, who currently serves as  President of the UN General Assembly’s  Seventy-Fourth session. 

Credit:  By Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times /    Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the United Nations General Assembly,  meets with a group of students to mark Black History Month by the Ark of Return at UN Headquarters Jan. 31, 2020. The Ark is inviting people to contemplate the legacy of the slave trade and to fight against racism and prejudice today. 

The  Arc of  Return Memorial is designed by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent

In December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 March the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade and welcomed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU) proposal to erect a Permanent Memorial at the UN Headquarters that is easily accessible to delegates, UN  staff and visitors. The  Arc of  Return Memorial, designed by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent,  acknowledges one of the most horrific tragedies of modern history and serves as a reminder of the legacy of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /  Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the United Nations General Assembly,  meets with a group of students to mark Black History Month by the Ark of Return at UN Headquarters Jan. 31, 2020.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /  Tijjani Muhammad-Bande , President of the United Nations General Assembly,  meets with a group of students to mark Black History Month by the Ark of Return at UN Headquarters Jan. 31, 2020.

The United Nations is offering a special Black History Month tour for the month of February. Departing at 2:30 pm each weekday, the tour includes a visit to the UN’s permanent memorial to the victims of slavery, the Ark of the Return. For more details and to purchase tickets for the tour, visit the UN’s website.