Dear Colleague,

By now you should have received an invitation to the Taste of Ethiopia event, scheduled for TODAY, December 6^th 6-9pm in 1300 Longworth. As Members of the Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus, we encourage you to attend! This event will celebrate Ethiopian culture by exposing Members and staff to the traditional food and music of the second largest African immigrant group in the United States. By popular demand, Beniam Solomon, manager of the Longworth Convenience store, and Abby Abebe, staff of Starbucks/Scoops, have organized this kick off event to what they hope will be an annual celebration of the African presence in our country.

We are particularly excited to celebrate Ethiopian culture at this occasion because Ethiopians around the world are celebrating their Millennium this year. The House of Representatives recently passed a Resolution, H.Res.550 congratulating the people of Ethiopia on the Second Millennium of Ethiopia. On September 12, 2007, Ethiopians rang in a new year according to the “Orthodox Tewahedo” Christian calendar – year 2000. 

Ethiopia is a symbol of freedom, a country with rich history and culture.  Ethiopians made important contributions to the freedom of many African countries and fought courageously to defend its own. Despite the enormous challenges facing Ethiopia and concerns about conditions in the country, we can use this occasion to pay tribute to the many scarifies made by Ethiopians over the centuries. Members of the Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus are eager to use the Millennium as an opportunity to bring national attention to the priority issues of this community, and to their original home, Ethiopia.

Please join Ben and Abby on Thursday and enjoy a Taste of Ethiopia. We will also bid farewell to Ben as he ends 4 years of service to Longworth.

For any questions or concerns about the Taste of Ethiopia event, please contact our staff at Selam.Mulugeta@mail.house.gov (Honda), or Marvin.Steele@mail.house.gov (Clay).

Sincerely,

s/ Michael M. Honda                                                                                                                                    Member of Congress                                                                                                                                       Founder and Chair                                                                                                                                     Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus                                         

s/ William Lacy Clay                                                                                                                                             Member of Congress                                                                                                                                             Honorary Chairman                                                                                                                                              Taste of Ethiopia