2022 California Juneteenth - American River Parkway - Introducing the California Gold Book

For untold generations, the Indigenous Populations along today's American River Parkway enjoyed the bounty of the unsurpassed flora and fauna, ignoring the vast amounts of gold simply apart of the natural beauty to behold.

Over 10,000 years of documented indigenous civilization forever altered by the winds of change during the Age of Sail.

For many season the Russian American Fur Company based in New Archangel, Alaska hunted "anything with a coat" along today's American River, with a singular focus on any fur hide with eyes and transformed calm pristine waters into a bloody red river.

In 1844, the Honorable William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., "African Founding Father of California," seized the opportunity and stipulated in his unique Mexican Land Grant, Rancho Rio De Los Americanos, not to interfere with the Indigenous population who remain the sacred stewards of the land.

Our African Cuban, Danish Jewish founding father of California wrote the report as US Vice Consul for the 1846 Bear Blag Revolt, establishing the short-lived California Republic that initially began at Murphy's Corral, in today's City of Elk Grove, California, June 1846.

Few want to recognize the salient contributions by people of Pan African Ancestry who participated in the Bear Flag Revolt and legal transformation from Mexican to American rule at Colton Hall, Monterey.

By January 1848, 8 Spanish Leagues, 35,521 acres of Leidesdorff Ranch were producing vast sums of cattle, wheat and additional agribusiness products providing "California Grown" fresh produce, hides and tallow for his San Francisco/Oakland growing agribusiness empire.

With the discovery of gold in January 1848 upstream in Coloma, the world's first global new story sparked a California Gold Rush. Today, another Gold Rush is Real Estate Development along historic Leidesdorff Ranch, south of William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. Memorial Highway.

Leidesdorff commissioned Marshall, the very man said to discover gold in California to verify the likelihood of gold on his vast real estate along today's Gold River, where over 200 million dollars in gold was extracted from the Gold Mining District, along the American River Basin.

On the far northeastern portion of Leidesdorff Ranch, the 1848 mining camp grew into the unincorporated town of Negro Bar, Sacramento County in 1849.

As the global 49ers arrived into the tent encampment expanding Negroes mining along a mile long strategic geographic gravel bar filled with gold, early success was plentiful.

By 1851 the town population was over 700, including a hotel, stores and many other permanent structures were built.

In an interesting twist of fate, the vast region owned by William Alexander Leisdesdorff, Jr., who reported died of "brain fever" on May 18, 1848 and buried on the same day as is custom for many cultures.

The next day, a very public announcement by Sam Brannon, who had arranged to purchase pick, shovels and additional supplies were stored near Sutter's Fort.

He, the leaders of the Church of Latter-Day Saints in California, held a near monopoly on providing supplies when most of the entire town of San Francisco was headed to the Negro Bar / Negro Hill / Mormon Island Gold Mining District.

NY Stevenson Volunteers, San Francisco Port Tax Collector, US Army Captain Joseph took leave and set sail to New York to secure essential financial support to make a low bid offer for the vast Leidesdorff Estate. Captain Folsom "brokered" a deal with Anna Marie Sparks, Leisdesdorff’s mother, after she confirmed his identity shown a daguerreotype and supporting source documents.

Anna Marie Sparks she was of Pan African descent, without legal standing in the new laws enacted by of the State of California at the dawn of U.S. Statehood, establishing "white male only" citizenship and preventing any legal testimony by Negroes.

The entire estate and specific boundaries of Leidesdorff Ranch was not settled until President Abraham Lincoln settled the matter in the midst of the US Civil War.

Upon the death of Captain Folsom the gold town Negro Bar was called Granite City and later renamed the town of Folsom, much later incorporated as a City within Sacramento County.

Our 21th Anniversary of Folsom Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration will showcase the initial Reclaiming the Past - National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom with living legacy by people of African Ancestry throughout the Gold Mining District, American River Basin in partnership with the Folsom Historic District, and Regional Partners along the entire American River Parkway, Old Sacramento to Coloma.

Friends of African Union will showcase traditional Pan Africa Art, Culture and Heritage and the Folsom Pioneer Village authentic living history from inundated communities throughout the Folsom Lake Recreational Area (1840-1875)

Completed in Spring 2021, the long awaited improved accommodations at Negro Bar State Historic Park is once again, embroiled in a never ending cyclical effort to erase all authentic notion of preservation standards given the stolen legacy of people of African Descent.

It will take enacting the Biden/Harris Executive Order #13985 and a plethora of enforcement of Federal/State and Regional laws "hidden" from consideration to restore dignity and respect throughout the American River Parkway.

Normal community outreach, historical preservation standards and basic dignity remains elusive at Negro Bar / Negro Hill/ Mormon Island Mining District due to the historic seasonal hate crimes against humanity, cloaked as equity and inclusion in this latest effort.

Summer 2022, an International, National, State and Regional interagency collaborative effort with Federal US Justice Department oversite may be seen in a similar fashion as 10 years ago, upstream at Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery.

It took strong Bipartisan Congressional leadership to remove the word "Nigger" from 36 gravemarkers within Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery relocated from the town Negro Hill, El Dorado County to make way for Folsom Dam.

US Army Corp of Engineers from Vicksburg, Mississippi contracted with local residents in 1954 to remind the world of ongoing hate and evil extent some would go to distort, discredit and erase authentic Art, Culture and Heritage of the early California Pioneers of Pan African Ancestry.

Our 21th Anniversary, Folsom Juneteenth Freedom Celebration, will be an amazing new opportunity to build stronger bridges utilizing mutually beneficial California - Pan African Trade and Commerce in alignment with new opportunities embracing the American Recovery Act, Presidential Executive Order #13895 and the African Continental Free Trade Area, housed in the Secretariat Office in Accra, Ghana.

Join us as we highlight UN efforts, Civil Society and a golden opportunity connecting the initial extended families of the California Gold Mining District of California with the Gold Coast of the African Union.