Independent Historian
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Velma Anne Ruth is President of ABS Community Research, a nonprofit established in 2001 to support community partnerships between health and human services, education, labor, and justice. Through ABS, Velma has volunteered and consulted in advocacy and development support to a range of organizations and projects. Beneficiaries include U.S. Veterans, Black History programs, Gospel Music programs, African village associations, public-private partnerships in Africa, and more across multiple continents.

In 2013, UN Economic & Social Council affiliate Universal Peace Federation appointed Velma an Ambassador for Peace, which is a certificate of advocacy-related diplomatic status to the United Nations awarded to selected government officials, diplomats, business leaders, philanthropists, and activists. Velma has also worked extensively with U.S. Federal, Foreign Government, and United Nations agencies, committees, and officials in matters related to human rights, democracy, security, and economics. Velma has Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology and the Visual & Performing Arts, and a Masters of Education in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She is based between the Washington, D.C. area and central Pennsylvania.

Mount Zion United Methodist Church (1816- )

Founded in 1816, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, the oldest continuously operating African American church in Washington DC, is located at 1334 29th Street NW. The Georgetown community where the church now sits, was a central port for slave and tobacco trading in the early … Read MoreMount Zion United Methodist Church (1816- )