Black Heritage Riders
57 School Street
Piscataway, NJ 08854
732.648.9045
BHRiders@aol.com

PRESS RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Miles J. Dean
732-648-9045 cell
BHRiders@aol.com
October 15, 2007

Black Heritage Riders (BHR) on horseback ride into downtown Baltimore to Morgan State University as part of their AMAAP Journey — Monday, October 15, 2007

(BALTIMORE, MD) The Director of Black Heritage Riders, Inc., Mr. Miles Dean, is traveling from New York to California via Horseback on a 6,000 mile trek as part of the BHR’s AMAAP Journey from September 2007 through February 2008. That’s right, via horseback! Mr. Dean’s journey is a noble one and his mission is clear, "what our children learn and need to learn" about African American and Indigenous history in our public educational system.

Mr. Dean will be in Baltimore and and is expected to speak with noted African American scholars at Morgan State University on October 15, 2007, and at Howard University the week of October 22nd. He will also participate in a special visit to local area horsemen and horsewomen as part of the Rough Riders Horseman’s Trail Ride this weekend at Piscatway Stables in Clinton, Maryland. Many members of the Baltimore based Rough Riders will accompany Mr. Dean into downtown Baltimore on Monday, October 15, 2007 as part of his AMAAP journey for the BHR.

The Black Heritage Riders, Inc. is a New Jersey based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established to promote educational advancement through the enrichment in classroom instructional curriculum to be used in our educational systems throughout the country for African American and minority youths alike. In September 2007 he and his horse Sankofa, along with his other horse Blaze, a truck, horse trailer, driver, and video/photographer, began a six thousand mile, six month journey from New York’s African Burial Ground to Los Angeles, California. The mission is clear, "what our children learn and need to learn" in History. His journey will take him over thousands of city streets, country roads, through state parks and alongside major highways. The Black Heritage Riders website will chronicle this journey of the ancestors and allow people across the counrty to follow A Modern African American Pioneer (AMAAP) as the history unfolds. Hundreds of horsemenand women are expected to join Mr. Dean as he travels throughout major cities in each of the 13 states he will enter. History will come alive again as you follow this historical journey daily via www.blackheritageriders.org

In 1992, the Black Heritage Riders (BHR) organization formed in New Jersey and within a few years became New Jersey’s premier African American horse riding organization. The BHR recently reorganized to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization, with a focus on developing and implementing educational initiatives. Our mission is to promote educational reform in the pubic school system.

In 2006, the organization focused its efforts on the national initiative of documenting the supportive roles African Americans played in the exploration, expansion, settlement, and development of the United States. The technology of the Internet is the medium that will chronicle a journey on horseback from New York to California. Interviews and historical data are presented by African American scholars who have published work on the historical contributions of those individuals who contributed so much, and receive so little credit. The journey, from New York to California, of A Modern African American Pioneer (AMAAP) may be followed during the months of September, 2007 through February, 2008 on www.blackheritageriders.org.

"The journey is a journey of celebration of the achievements of our African-American ancestors in the exploration, expansion and settlement of the United States," said Dean to Rudy Larini of the Newark Star Ledger Staff.

E. Ethelbert Miller, director of the African-American Resource Center at Howard University in Washington, D.C., applauds Dean’s effort and said it could provide a valuable lesson in black history.

He also said Dean will serve as a role model for young African-Americans, recalling the black cowboys he used to see at traveling rodeos when he was a boy in Washington. "It was always exciting for kids to see black people on a horse," he said. "When you get kids who are 7, 8 years old, the image of Miles on horseback might be very positive and very memorable."

Dean says he hopes the trip will instill in African American children a sense of their heritage that transcends just being the descendants of slaves. "A child’s self-esteem and development are predicated, to a great extent on history, especially the history of one’s self," he said "if you make children feel good about themselves, it’s motivation for children to excel."

Our Children Need To Know About African Explorers, African American Trailblazers, Cowboys, Horsewomen, the Black Indians and the many, many more.