SINT MAARTEN/ETHIOPIA - Victor Mooney of Queens, New York will pay homage to the Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson during a Sunrise Ceremony at the African Union Headquarters on February 26.
On Mooney’s fourth attempt — after countless miles of preparation and relentless self-reflection — he became the first African-American ever to row from the African coast to New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.
“Sunrise Ceremony” at the African Union is a ritual of remembrance for Rev. Jesse Jackson, a man whose tireless advocacy for civil rights and economic justice has long resonated with the continent’s own struggle for self-determination.
Rev. Jackson’s speeches—full of the cadence of marching drums and the timbre of gospel—have always carried a message of unity that mirrors the African Union’s own motto: “For Unity, Peace, and Development.”
If the ceremonial grounds prove unviable, Mooney will gather under the watchful gaze of the bronze figure of H.E. Kwame Nkrumah, standing tall at the foot of the AU’s main building.
Nkrumah’s statue, his hand outstretched as if beckoning the continent to stride forward together, has long been a physical embodiment of Pan-Africanism.
It is a place where the ideals Rev. Jackson held dear—social justice, economic empowerment, and the unbreakable bond between peoples of African descent—can be felt in the cool morning air, just as the first light of dawn paints the horizon.
“In the end, whether the ceremony takes place on the polished marble of the AU hall or beneath the bronze arms of Kwame Nkrumah, the sunrise will rise, and with it, a renewed commitment to the virtues we hold close: unity, justice, and the unyielding belief that together, we can turn any storm into a promise of a brighter day”, said Mooney.
Time: 6AM
Date: February 26, 2026
Where: African Union HQ | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
On the net: VictorMooney.com
The late Rev. Jesse Jackson (R) and Victor Mooney (L).
