(Washington, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray has proclaimed Wednesday, May 25, 2011, as “Africa Day.” Chief of Staff Paul Quander will join Ngozi Nmezi, Director of the Mayor’s Office on African Affairs, and Asmara Sium, Chair of the Commission of African Affairs, at the African Diplomatic Corps’ Africa Day reception Wednesday evening.

“The District of Columbia is home to thousands of African immigrant residents and their families who represent diverse cultural, religious, and political backgrounds, speaking hundreds of languages and dialects and have enriched the cultural fabric-or our world-class city,” Mayor Gray wrote in the proclamation.

Mayor Gray and the Mayor’s Office on African Affairs will join African communities around the world in the observance of African Liberation Day on May 25, 2011. African Liberation Day is celebrated in Africa, Europe, North America as well as Australia. In the United States, it is commemorated by several states and local communities through events to highlight the political and social issues and contributions of US African communities. African Liberation Day recognizes the founding of the Organization of African Union (OAU), now the African Union.