“The Hellenic Revolution and its Effects on the American Abolitionist Movement ” Panel Discussion EMBCA

 

Dear Friends and Colleagues –

Join us for EMBCA's “The Hellenic Revolution and its Effects on the American Abolitionist Movement ” Panel Discussion Webinar on Sunday, February 21 at 2 P.M. EST (11 A.M. PST, 9 P.M. Athens EEST). The panel for this unique event will be introduced and moderated by Lou Katsos, EMBCA's President/Founder and who will be part of the panel. The distinguished panel, in formation, will include Author/Poet Nicholas Alexiou, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Hellenic American Project at Queens College, Author/Historian/Poet/Editor/Activist Dan Georgakas the Director of the Greek American Studies Project at the Center for Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies at Queens College, and Author/Historian/Activist Herb Boyd, Professor of the Black Studies Program at the City College of New York, CUNY.

As mentioned in previous EMBCA panel discussions this discussion will be a further elaboration on Lou Katsos and Prof. Alexiou's lecture conducted at Queens College’s Rosenthal Library on April 15, 2019, and widely hailed. It was organized by EMBCA, Prof. Nicholas Alexiou's The Hellenic American Project /Queens College Sociology Department and the Black History Month Committee of Queens College. In the program relating to the Hellenic Revolution of 1821 Lou and Nicholas made the main presentations on the “Contributions of African Americans in the Hellenic Revolution of 1821, and Early American Philhellenes Ushering the Abolition and Suffrage Movements” a topic on the Revolution rarely (if ever) discussed. This particular panel will focus in more depth on the American Abolitionist Movement as influenced by the Hellenic Revolution for Black History Month in February.

American Philhellenism by 1821 when the Hellenic Revolution broke out, although derived from European origins became more than just a philosophical intellectual movement. It caught America by storm and referred to as the Greek Fever/ Greek Fire historically in the U.S.. It was influenced and inspired in part by America's contact with the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States but also from their missionary and commercial interests that led to its first military conflicts abroad relating to the Barbary Wars, America's first wars. Americans also knew the Hellenes as slaves in the East, and also as fellow warriors in America's first battle and victory on foreign soil in the Battle of Derma (1805). U.S. Marines and the Greek mercenaries who supported them inspired the U.S. Marines' Hymn line " To the shores of Tripoli..". When the Hellenic Revolution broke out, and through the effort of many throughout the United States, Greek Committees were formed rapidly to support the effort financially and in some cases Americans went to Greece to fight. They included for example George Jarvis, a New Yorker (known as "Kapetan Zervos"), Captain Jonathan P. Miller, of Vermont, (who adopted Loukas Miltiades Miller the first American of Hellenic origin to be elected to the U.S. Congress), Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe who became the Chief Surgeon of the Hellenic Navy, George Wilson of Providence, Rhode Island, James Williams, an African American from Baltimore who joined the Greek Navy forces and fought died and is buried in Argos, Greece and others. Many who fought in Greece and others who were members of the Greek Committees became and were serious abolitionists in America and significant opponents of American slavery and which included Samuel Gridley Howe (one of the Secret Six), Jonathan Miller among many. We will explore some of them in this discussion as well as Hellenes who came into the U.S. in some cases as orphans of the Revolution, such as John Zachos, who themselves became American abolitionists and fought in the U.S. Civil War.. We hope this panel discussion and conversation contributes to a wave of research and continuing discussions on this very important but not often, if ever, discussed topic.

This event and others we have had, and are being planned are part of EMBCA’s American Hellenic Revolution of 1821 Bicentennial Committee series of events focusing not only on the Revolution but also importantly on the American, Diaspora and International aspects and influences of the Revolution for its 200 Year Anniversary.

UPCOMING EMBCA EVENTS

February 21 - "The Hellenic Revolution and its Effect on the American Abolitionist Movement" Panel Discussion Webinar

february 25- “NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) EMBCA Community Service Event”

February 28 - "Virtual Reality Training for High Risk Engagements From the Hellenic Revolution to Today’s Evolution" Panel Discussion Webinar

March 7 - "The Legacy of the Hellenic Diaspora in the Hellenic Revolution of 1821" Panel Discussion Webinar

March 14 - "The Hellenic Revolution and its Effects on the American Women's Suffrage Movement" Panel Discussion Webinar

March 28 - "Hellenic Energy Independence Forum - Part 2" Panel Discussion Webinar

April 11 - "The Effects of the Hellenic Revolution on Medicine, Health & Wellness in Greece, America, and Europe" Panel Discussion Webinar

Love Letters To Greece

EMBCA

Alexander Billinis lecture in New Orleans

 

2 February 2020. Wonderful event in New Orleans last night. Honored to speak along with Gregory Kontos about the Greek Commercial Diaspora of the 1800s and the vital role played by New Orleans Greek merchants in this global network and in establishing the first Orthodox Church community in the US. My heartfelt thanks and admiration to Maggie Spiros Maag and the Archives Committee at Holy Trinity in Nee Orleans and to John Georges who made his wonderful venue at The New Orleans Advocate available for the lecture. Let me add a final thanks to our dear friend in South Carolina, Diann Pelias Stathakis a proud daughter of New Orleans for facilitating the contact with Maggie. Also thanks to her husband Richard for his wonderful conversation and for driving us around New Orleans.

Alexander Billinis

Konstantinos Karatheodori (September 13, 1873 - February 2, 1950)

 

Konstantinos Karatheodori (September 13, 1873 - February 2, 1950)

With roots from Vyssa in Eastern Thrace and from the island of Chios, Karatheodori was one of the great minds of modern times. A prominent and well respected Professor of several Universities. A world renowned Mathematician, with his scientific work extending to the fields of Physics and Archaeology.

The Karatheodori’s were one of the most prominent and well connected families in Constantinople. His father Stefanos, a lawyer, served as Ottoman ambassador to Belgium, St. Petersburg & Berlin, where Konstantinos was born.

When the Greco-Turkish war (1897) broke out, Konstantinos sided with the Greeks putting him at odds with Ottoman authorities, as his father was a representative of the Ottoman Government.

Whilst he was born, grew up in and lived in Germany, he was fluent in Greek and maintained many contacts with Greece and the Greek Academic world and was directly involved, in the reorganisation of Greek universities.

After the Greek Army assumed control of Smyrni and the region of Ionia in 1919, Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos invited Karatheodori to establish a new Greek University there. He was appointed Dean of the University and toured Europe buying books & equipment. The university however, would never admit students due to the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Karatheodri managed to save books from the library and was rescued by the battleship Naxos. Karatheodori later taught at the Athens Polytechnic University and the Kapodistrian University also in Athens.

A new Greek University would finally materialise, with the establishment of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1925.

There is a Karatheodori Family Museum in the village of Nea Vyssa in Thrace, named after the family’s original village of Vyssa in Eastern Thrace, where many survivors of the Greek Genocide (1914-23) settled. There is also the Karatheodori Museum in Komotini also in Thrace.

Karatheodori died on this day in Munich in 1950.

HEROES/HISTORICAL FIGURES

Hellenic Patriotism

 

Love Letters To Greece

Congressman Gus Bilirakis, member of EMBCA’s American Hellenic Revolution of 1821 Bicentennial Committee

Congressman Gus Bilirakis , a member of EMBCA’s American Hellenic Revolution of 1821 Bicentennial Committee, may join us (we will see) today for EMBCA's “Hellenic Orphans Taken Abroad from 1821 through the 1960’s” Panel Discussion Webinar at 2 P.M. EST (11 A.M. PST, 9 P.M. Athens EEST). I will moderate the panel discussion for this unique event that will include Prof. Gonda Van Steen the Koraes Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History and Director of the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College; Historian/Educator/Author Constantine Hatzidimitriou, and Dr. Theodosios Kyriakidis the Chair of Pontic Studies in the School of History and Archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Congressman Gus Michael Bilirakis-

Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis represents Florida’s 12th Congressional District. He was first elected to Congress on 2006 and serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He is the Ranking Member of the VA Economic Opportunities Subcommittee and a Member of the VA Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Health Subcommittee and Communications and Technology Subcommittee. With 27 bills he authored signed into law between 2015 and 2018, Congressman Bilirakis was recently designated as the Most Effective Lawmaker in the State of Florida by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at Vanderbilt University.

He is the grandson of Hellenic immigrants. His grandfather owned a local bakery in Florida where he worked from a young age.

He attended the University of Florida, where he graduated with a degree in political science and received his J.D. degree from the Stetson University College of Law in 1989.

He operates a Tampa Bay area law practice, the Bilirakis Law Group, specializing in probate and estate planning.

As a former member of the House Committee on Foreign affairs and current member of the Caucus on International Religious Freedom, Congressman Bilirakis’ desire to support American allies, protect religious freedom, among many other things have kept him strongly apprised of major world events.

As the grandson of Hellenic immigrants, Congressman Bilirakis has been heavily invested in Hellenic affairs and a region which is vital to American interests, and as the Hellenic Republic is and has been a strong ally of the United States. He is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Affairs and the founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance as Israel is a strategic ally in the region as well, sharing a common defense strategy with the United States, Greece, Cyprus, and other allies in the East Mediterranean. Congressman Bilirakis has worked and continues to work with world leaders to ensure a peaceful future in the Middle East and at home. Congressman Bilirakis.

EMBCA

Ilias I. Katsos