Ohio Senate passes resolution honouring Bulgarian-American heritage
14 December 2023 News
The Ohio Senate passed a resolution honouring Bulgarian-American cultural heritage. The resolution commemorates the achievements of individuals, part of the common history of Bulgaria and the United States:
— The war correspondent Januarius MacGahan, whose publications about the bloody suppression of the April Uprising by the Ottoman başıbozuk convinced the international community to support the struggle for the liberation of Bulgaria.
— Macedonian Bulgarians Athanas ‘Tom’ Kiradjieff and Ivan ‘John’ Kiradjieff, discoverers of the famous ‘Cincinnati chilli’.
— Scientist Viden Tabakov, whose developments contributed to NASA's first flight to the Moon.
— The first state senator of Bulgarian origin, Thomas Tamash.
The work of the thousands of Bulgarian emigrants from the region of Macedonia and the foundation they established in 1922 ‘Macedonian Patriotic Organization’ (MPO), which to this day works to promote the human rights of all people of Macedonia, regardless of their ethnicity, is also honoured.
The deep military and strategic cooperation between Bulgaria and the United States and Bulgaria's key role in the security of Eastern Europe, the stability of the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea region are also noted.
The Bulgarian community in Ohio and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria are acknowledged for Bulgaria's condemnation of the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine and the support expressed from the very beginning of the war for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as the country's integration into NATO and the EU.
Special attention is paid to the 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews and the work of Bulgarian politicians, administrators, officers, clergymen, intellectuals and ordinary citizens ‘who in the spring of 1943 resisted Nazi pressure to deport Bulgarian Jews to concentration camps and thus saved about 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from the worst terrors of the Nazi regime.’
The proclamation strengthens the strategic relations between Bulgaria and the United States and marks a number of important anniversaries, including the 120th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the United States and the 145th anniversary of the country's liberation.
The contribution of the two churches in Ohio to the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the Sunday School ‘Rodolyubie’ and the Bulgarian Association of Cincinnati (BAC) to the preservation of the Bulgarian-American cultural heritage is recognized.
Brenda Mooney of the McGahan Foundation and her daughter Sarah, Didi Patridge, President of the BAC, Nadezhda Tanova, Principal of the School ‘Rodolyubie’, and little Alex and his sister Kalina from Columbus attended the Senate meeting.
This is the second recognition of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian diaspora in Ohio in its historic entirety for 2023, after earlier this year the state's governor, Mike DeWine, declared March 3, 2023 as Bulgaria Liberation Day.
The document was adopted on the initiative of the Consulate General in Chicago: ‘This resolution is also dedicated to the generations of Bulgarian immigrants in Ohio and the United States who did not forget their roots and forever carried Bulgaria in their hearts. They will never be forgotten!’ Svetoslav Stankov, Consul General, commented.
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