Queen of the Kushite Kingdom

Queen Kandake Amanirenas would lose an eye in battle, cover it with a patch and continue to lead her armies against the mighty Roman Empire. Kandake or Candace means "Great Woman" and is the equivalent of queen or queen mother of the kingdom of Kush. From what I have been able to learn about this lady she was indeed a great female leader and was the leader of the kingdom of Kush, located in modern-day Sudan and Ethiopia. Born between 60 and 50 B.C. she reigned as the sole ruler of Kush

Queen Amarnirenas would impress even the Roman war generals in defense of her kingdom. The Romans were on a drive to expand their empire and their wealth by demanding tribute from the Egyptians and the Greeks whose lands the Romans had conquered. The problem for the Romans came when they decided to include the African people living in the Kingdom of Kush.

Unlike Cleopatra, the Kushite Queen would not bow gracefully to the Romans' demands, Queen Amanirenas chose to protect her people from paying tribute to the Romans. Rather than give in to the Romans' demands and ultimatums the African queen went to war with Roam. Leading a skillful group of attacks Queen Amanirenas with thousands of her soldiers shocked the Romans by boldly attacking Roman territories.  To show her distaste for the Roman Emperor she and her army dethroned statues of the Roman Emperor Augustus Ceasar (24 B.C.)

Queen Kandake Amanirenas beheaded a statue of the Roman Emperor and buried it under the entryway of her palace so that everyone could walk over her enemy. This disgraceful slap in the face was yet another source of anger for Augustus Caesar to learn that Nehesu will have to walk over the mighty emperor's head to enter the kingdom of Kush. Unable to defeat the Queen of the Kushites and tired of spending large chunks of their newfound riches to eradicate the elusive battle harden queen, the Romans called for a truce.

In the end, a deal would be struck between the Romans and the Kushites that amounted to Queen Amanirenas agreeing not to attack or deface any more Roman settlements or cities and in return, the Romans would not seek tribute from the Kushite Kingdom. The riches of the Kushite Kingdom would stay within the African people's Kingdom thanks to the Kushite Queen, Kandake Amanirenas.

 

The Juneteenth Handbook

The Juneteenth Handbook was put together by me to share my very own personal experience about attending my first Juneteenth celebration, and to share some interesting information about the Juneteenth celebration collected during my research stage for this book's companion video/DVD A Time to be Remembered, A Juneteenth Story.  My handbook also offers a brief history of the Juneteenth celebration that includes many of the people, places, and things associated with the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in this nation. Much of this history I did not know before starting my Juneteenth knowledge-gathering journey.

My other motivation behind this handbook was the joy of knowing that some of these interesting Juneteenth snippets, cut from my video production because of time considerations, would not be lost to the editing room floor. The fact that Juneteenth is currently a federal holiday is amazing to me and was one of the driving forces for me creating the video, and the handbook, thinking that if enough Americans became aware of the truly historic significance of the Juneteenth celebration it might help tip the scale all the way over to; make Juneteenth a national holiday.

In my retired life, I realize that I not only love history, but I also love uncovering hidden history. So far, it's been history hidden from me, I'm sure if my college days had bent more toward African American history rather than electronics, the history I am learning about today would have shown itself to me much earlier. Still, many of the things I have learned about slavery and the Juneteenth celebration these days I wish I had known when I was in school.

The truth of the matter is that the Juneteenth celebration, which culminated with the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments did something the July 4th, 1776 celebration did not do. The Juneteenth celebration made the United States a more perfect union because, on June 19th, 1865, all Americans, black and white, were finally entitled to equal protection under the laws of this nation, something that was not true on July 4th, 1776.

The thing to remember is that Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, just some of the other names for the Juneteenth Celebration, is an important part of American History and is considered the longest-running African American, and end of slavery celebration in the U.S. North Dakoda, and Hawaii used to be part of the last three states in the union with no prevision to celebrate Juneteenth. Each of those states has since approved legislation to honor Juneteenth as a State Holiday leaving South Dakoda the only no Juneteenth celebration holdout.