The Steel City and home of one of America’s oldest Greek American communities will be basked in blue lights during the evenings of March 25, 26 and 27, according to proclamations issued on Tuesday by local officials.
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto issued a proclamation obtained by The Pappas Post (see image below) in which he said that the city would offer the gesture on behalf of the Greek-American community of Western Pennsylvania in honor of Greek Independence Day. The mayor said that the city would also recognize March 2021 as “Modern Greek National Bicentennial Month.”
“Now therefore be it resolved that I, William Peduto, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, join the Greek-American community to celebrate the Bicentennial of the beginning of the modern Greek nation as well as to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Greek-Americans to our region’s cultural, civic, economic and transformational development,” the mayor wrote.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald issued his own proclamation, also obtained by The Pappas Post (see images below), to mark the occasion.
The full text of both Pittsburgh officials’ proclamations follows below.
Proclamation by Mayor Peduto
Modern Greek Nation Bicentennial Month
Pittsburgh Joins the Greek Community for the Bicentennial of the Greek Revolution
March Two-Thousand and Twenty-One
WHEREAS, In March 2021, Greeks across the world are honoring and celebrating the Bicentennial of the Greek Revolution in which many American “Philhellenes” fought alongside Greeks for freedom and supported the people to found the modern Greek nation in 1821; and,
WHEREAS, The American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania was founded in 2005 to foster greater understanding of the culture, history, language and arts of Greece, past and present, by providing funds for scholarships, research, education, academic and cultural programs and opportunities linking all peoples in American and Greece; and,
WHEREAS, The American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania is joining the government of Greece and the worldwide Greek Diaspora to celebrate “Greece 2021” and highlighting the strong bonds of Pittsburgh and the Greek community in their flagship project “Bridges of White and Blue”; and,
WHEREAS, Bridges of White and Blue identifies and celebrates those in Western Pennsylvania who are descendants of a substantial number of lesser known heroes who participated in the revolutionary period. They will honor the stories of women and men who gave everything up to fight for the freedom of their people and later came to America to further enrich and celebrate the Pittsburgh region’s cultural diversity; and,
WHEREAS, As Greece’s freedom would not have been possible without the direct intervention of the “Three Powers”, the flagship project will usher another premiere event to bring together the French, British and Russian communities of Western Pennsylvania in commemoration of the “London Protocols” that brought those nations in as guarantors of Greek freedom.
NOW THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED, that I, William Peduto, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, joins the Greek-American community to celebrate the Bicentennial of the beginning of the modern Greek nation as well as to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Greek-Americans to our region’s cultural, civic, economic and transformational development.
FURTHERMORE, declaring, March Two Thousand & Twenty-One as “Modern Greek Nation Bicentennial Month” here in our most livable City of Pittsburgh.
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the City of Pittsburgh at the City-County Building, this twenty-fifth day of February in the year Two-Thousand & Twenty-One.
William M. Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh
Proclamation by County Executive Fitzgerald
WHEREAS, March 2021 will be the month in which those of Greek descent across the world will honor and celebrate the Bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, the beginning of the modern Greek nation; locally, the American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania (AHFWP) is working with the Greek Room Committee of the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh and partners in Greece to virtually celebrate this year as a milestone for the people who came from Greece to make western Pennsylvania their home; and
WHEREAS, the AHFWP is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster greater understanding of the culture, history, language and arts of Greece, past and present, by providing funds for scholarships, research and education in established or seed programs that address these aims in institutions of higher learning and sponsoring academic and cultural programs and events linking all peoples in America and Greece; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County is proud to join in the celebration of a culture which has made great contributions to our region in the past through the steel mills, the coal factories and the industry of the area, and more recently through successful entrepreneurship, as leaders in academia, corporate life and as eminent philanthropists supporting a wide array of programs aimed at underprivileged and minorities, social and economic integration and scholarly achievement; and
WHEREAS, this milestone is worthy of great adulation, the United States Embassy in Athens announced the launch of a campaign for the entire year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire; the campaign — “USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship” — highlights the enduring ties and shared values between the two countries over centuries; it will celebrate Greece’s history, honor its people, highlight its achievements and envision its future; and
WHEREAS, we are fortunate to live in a region with immense diversity, full of people from all parts of the world contributing to the cultural breadth of our county; we are thrilled to join the Greek-American community in its Bicentennial celebration and look forward to all we will continue to achieve together.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED that I, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, by virtue of the authority vested in me, do herby proclaim March as “Greek-American Bicentennial Month” in Allegheny County.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have herunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the County of Allegheny to be affixed this 1st day of March, 2021.
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