The Beginning
In the late 1980's, an effort was started to document the
Portuguese presence in North America since the 15th century, and their participation in its making.
Then again in the early 1990's, the effort continued with limited success due the lack of published information about the history of early America.
A few interested individuals decided that broader participation was needed if we were to achieve any results. That's when the idea of an organization was born. Since organizations are easy to form but hard to maintain, much planning went into it. Finally in 1996, the Portuguese-American Historical and Research Foundation was given its Charter as a non-profit North Carolina Corporation with its headquarters in Franklin, North Carolina, amidst the Appalachian Mountains.
Our Mission...
To Research the Early American History and the Portuguese settlements in North America as well as other groups directly or indirectly connected, who may have Portuguese ancestry. One of the Foundation's objectives is to encourage higher education, in cooperation with colleges and universities. More Portuguese-American representation is needed in the fields of politics, science, medicine, education, and others.
Our challenge, and the challenge of every parent and grandparent of a high school student of Portuguese ancestry, is to make sure that these students attend and complete college.
There is every reason to be proud of our heritage our published books prove that we played a large part in helping to make America great in the past. Let's play an even bigger part in the future.
The Books
All the documentation obtained during the research was compiled and the results put into 3 books entitled, "The Forgotten Portuguese (sold out), The Portuguese Making of America and the Portuguese version, Os Portugueses na Formação da América."
The author, Manuel Mira, donated all proceeds from the sale of these books to the PAHR Foundation. The first book was published in 1997.
This type of books are more of a reference nature, thus its circulation is somewhat limited and profits from its sale were not expected.
However, we were pleasantly surprised to find out later that the first book did sell quite well and the demand for the two subsequent ones are still here.
The publishing of the books are just one of the many activities in which the Foundation has been involved. Contacts have been made with many colleges and universities, which have requested the books and extended invitations to present our findings on early American history.
Furthermore, we began an educational process about the early Portuguese presence in North America which we now classify as the only group that has continuously inhabited this continent. We also encourage students and others to know more about America's early history than just what is published in traditional classroom text books.
Activities
The PAHR Foundation has given successful lectures in the following places:
Sociedade de Geografia in Lisboa, Portugal
Biblioteca Municipal in Vale de Cambra, Portugal
Durham and Franklin in North Carolina
The Library of Congress and PALCUS in Washington, DC
Toronto and Montreal in Canada
San Jose, California
Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford in Massachusetts
Johnson City, Tennessee
Woodbridge, Newark and Elizabeth in New Jersey
West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in Florida
Federation of Portuguese Canadian Businessmen and Professionals Association
University of Virginia, Wise Campus
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
University of Louisville, Kentucky
Wise and Harrisonburg, Virginia
We were also present in public schools whenever requested to speak about Portugal and the Portuguese.
We have also attended a conference on Genetic Diseases this year in Porto, Portugal. The Conference took place at the University of Porto (Biomedical Institute) and was organized by Dr. Jorge Sequeiros and Dr. Paula Coutinho.
UnIGENe, Unidade de Investigação Genética e Epidemiológica de Doenças Neurológicas is an going research project to establish the origins of certain genealogical diseases and how they can be detected at an early stage, allowing a possible cure that otherwise would have been more difficulty to get.
At that Conference we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Marie Boutté from the University of Nevada. The Foundation's Advisory Council extended Dr. Boutté an invitation to join our group, which has graciously accepted. Thanks for joining and welcome to our to family.
The Internet
We have established a web site with free access and no advertising: www.PortugueseFoundation.org.
The email address is: portugal@portuguesefoundation.org
We have received almost 250,000 visitors since we came online, and countless emails requesting information about Portugal and the Portuguese. A close analysis has shown that we receive inquiries from the American public as well as the Portuguese, not only from North America but also world wide.
The Collaborators
We have worked and cooperated with the following organizations:
Luso-Americano Portuguese Newspaper, Newark, New Jersey
Comunidades USA Magazine, Manassas, Virginia
Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD)
Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
The Embassy of Portugal and the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities
University of Louisville in Kentucky
Melungeon Heritage Association
Gowen Heritage Foundation
Portuguese-American Cultural Society of PBC, Florida
Portuguese-American Club of Fort Lauderdale
Portuguese-American Club of Orlando
Portuguese-American Suncoast Association of St. Petersburg
Federation of Portuguese Canadian Businessmen
University of Virginia, Wise Campus
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
University of Louisville, Kentucky.
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Library Casa da Saudade, New Bedford, Mass
McLean Community Center, Virginia
PISC of Elizabeth, New Jersey
Sport Club Português of Newark, New Jersey
Voz de Portugal in Montreal, Canada
Southern Appalachian Genealogical Society
Macon County Historical Society
Vardy Community Historical Society, Sneedville, TN
Praça da Alegria, RTP TV in Porto, Portugal
SIC TV Noticias, Lisboa, Portugal
RDP, Radio Difusão Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal
RTP TV, Program Sinais, Lisboa, Portugal
RDP, TV Comunidades, Lisboa, Portugal
The New England Academy of Codfish, Inc
We thank their Directors and Staff for their support.
The Patrons
The following banks have also contributed to our success, which we appreciate:
The New England Academy of Codfish, Inc.
Espirito Santo Bank
Eurobank
Totta & Açores
A program long established by the organization of "The New England Academy of Codfish, Inc." in promoting our culture and heritage through the free distribution of books about Portugal, has included the acquisition of a large quantity of one of our books, which have been donated to all major Libraries. To Dr. Manuel Luciano da Silva we are grateful for his cooperation in this matter.
We have also completed a joint program with FLAD to distribute books to all major universities in all States. To the Director, Dr. Rui Machete and its staff, our sincere thanks for their support.
The Luso-Americano of New Jersey has unconditionally supported our efforts and believed in our purpose from the beginning. Our thanks go to the publisher Mr. Antonio Matinho and his wife Natalia, and also to the Editor, Mr. Fernando dos Santos, as well as all the staff.
And to our Members who participated in a joint program of donating a book to their local library: the readers at the libraries thank you and we also thank you.
The Pledge
We're very happy to inform you that a financial pledge has been awarded to our organization by a Trust Foundation. At the request of the donor, we can't give any more details. We can, however, disclose that this pledge will assure the continuity of our work for years to come, provided that we remain loyal to the Trusts goals.
Last but not least, we are grateful to our readers and the Members of the PAHR Foundation. Without them all this would not have been possible. We do remind everyone that the membership dues of $15.00 is due on July 1st. Your remittance would be appreciated, and a new membership card will be forwarded to you.
Please send your payment to:
PAHR Foundation, Inc.
277 Industrial Park Road
Franklin, NC 28734 |
