Ronald Myers

Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D. (born February 29, 1956) is an American physician, medical missionary, Baptist minister, jazz musician, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Interested in the Juneteenth slave freedom holiday, Myers is the leader of the "Modern Juneteenth Movement" in America, founder and chairman of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign, National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC), National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP). Myers is also the founder and chairman of the American Pain Institute (API), the Myers Foundation For Indigent Health Care & Community Development and the Fellowship of Creative Christian Jazz Musicians (FCCJM).

In 2000, he founded the Washington Juneteenth National Holiday Observance and the National Day of Reconciliation & Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement, which includes the National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "Maafa" Memorial Service. In 2004 and 2005, he organized "America's In Pain!" - March on Washington - "Silent No More!", demanding congressional hearings on the pain treatment crises in America. In 2010, he founded the World Day of Reconciliation & Healing From the Legacy of Enslavement.

Myers is the founder of Madison Medicus - University of Wisconsin Medical School African American Alumni Association, the University of Wisconsin African American Alumni Association and the African American Alumni Foundation of the University of Wisconsin.

In 2006, Myers became the owner of the Major League Baseball basketball team, the Mississippi Miracles.

Early life
Myers was born in Chicago, IL, the youngest of two sons, to Marion Mack Myers and Neoma R. Myers. The Myers family moved to Milwaukee, WI, when his parents, graduates of Langston University, became employed as teachers in the Milwaukee Public School System.

Education
Myers attended Rufus King High School, a public school on the north side, inner city, of Milwaukee. Myers gained attention as a soloist in the high school jazz ensemble on trumpet and later piano, where he performed with jazz musicians Sonny Stitt and Donald Byrd at the age of 16. Upon graduating with honors in 1974, Myers attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As a pre-med student, Myers majored in African American Studies and was a member of the Experimental Improvisational Black Music Ensemble (EIBME), under the mentorship of trombonist and professor Jimmy Cheatham. Myers graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1985 and completed his residency in Family Medicine at L.S.U. Medical Center, Washington-St. Tammany Charity Hospital in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1988.

Myers took part-time courses at Reformed Theological Seminary at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), in 1989 and 1990. He became the first ordained and commissioned medical missionary to America’s poorest region, the Mississippi Delta, by the Wisconsin Baptist Pastors Conference and Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, in Milwaukee, in 1990.

Family
Myers is married to Sylvia Holmes and they have five children, Ronald, Jr., Michael, Eric, Joshua and Neoma.

Medical missions
Reporter Peter Applebome wrote of Myers: "There aren't many doctors like Ronald Myers, a jazz-playing, Baptist-preaching family practitioner whose dream has always been to practice medicine in the kind of place most other doctors wouldn't even stop for a tank of gas."

In 1988, Myers, upon completing his residency in family medicine, gained national and international media attention when he and his wife used their own limited financial resources, to open a family health center in Tchula, Mississippi, at the objection of the U.S. Public Health Service. Tchula is located in one of the most physician neediest and highest infant mortality areas in the country.

In 1990, Myers became the first ordained and commissioned medical missionary to America's poorest region, the Mississippi Delta, in the history of the black church in America. He was commissioned by the Wisconsin Baptist Pastors Conference and ordained by Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Milwaukee, WI.

Civil rights activism
Myers founded the National Campaign For Justice and Hope to bring attention to the discriminatory and deplorable working conditions of African American catfish workers in the Mississippi Delta. From 1996 - 2005, he organized the annual Buffalo Fish Festival in Belzoni, Mississippi, the Catfish Capitol of the World, at the same time as the Catfish Industry sponsored World Catfish Festival, bringing the plight of poor catfish workers to a national and international audience.

A Mississippi farmer, he worked with other Mississippi black farmers in support of an historic 1999 class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement of $2.5 billion for 20,000 Black farmers in damages for loan discrimination practiced by the federal government.

Juneteenth
In 1994, the era of the "Modern Juneteenth Movement" began when a group of Juneteenth leaders from across the country gathered in New Orleans, Louisiana, at Christian Unity Baptist Church to work for greater national recognition of Juneteenth. Myers was elected Chairman of this national advocacy effort by Juneteenth leaders during this historic meeting.

Myers continues to provide national leadership advocacy for Juneteenth as the Founder and Chairman of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign, National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC), National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP).

Chronic pain patient advocacy
In 2003, Myers, Founder and Chairman of the American Pain Institute (API), organized a coalition of chronic pain patients, physicians and patients rights advocates, to pass the Arkansas Chronic Pain Treatment Act, through a series public marches and protest rallies in the state capitol of Little Rock. In 2004 and 2005, Myers organized two successful "America's In Pain!" - MARCH ON WASHINGTON - "Silent No More!", demanding congressional hearings on the pain crisis in America.

Jazz musician
Myers was influenced by his association with famous jazz musicians in college. He was also mentored by clarinetist Alvin Batiste.

As the founder of the National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP), an accomplished jazz pianist, trumpeter and composer,  Myers performs across the country promoting "June Is Black Music Month!" - Celebrating Juneteenth Jazz - "Preserving Our African American Jazz Legacy!" The NAJJP is the sponsor of several Juneteenth Jazz Legacy Concerts and Juneteenth African American Art Exhibits during Black Music Month, and throughout the year, including the historic African-American jazz legacy cities of Kansas City, MO and Omaha, NB.

In 1994, Myers released an album with all original compositions, Doctor's Orders. Jazz critic Willard Jenkins, who frequently reviews jazz recordings for Down Beat and Jazz Times magazine, called the album "one of the most important recordings in the last ten years." In his work as the Artistic Director of the Mississippi Jazz & Heritage Festival, Myers helps maintain the Mississippi Delta jazz legacy.

American Basketball Association
In 2006, Myers bought the American Basketball Association (ABA) team, the Mississippi Miracles. Based in Greenville, Mississippi, the Mississippi Miracles played for one season before operations ceased.

Awards

 * President’s Award, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Richmond, VA (1990)
 * Certificate of Recognition National Special Achievement Award For Outstanding Community Service, California State Legislative Assembly (11/2/90)
 * Certificate of Appreciation, National Special Achievement Award For Outstanding Service, Mayor Art Agnos, City of San Francisco (11/2/90)
 * Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition For Outstanding & Invaluable Community Service, 5th Congressional District of California, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (11/2/90)
 * Meritorious Leadership Award For Outstanding Community Service, Tougaloo College Tougaloo, MS (5/19/91)
 * Certificate of Commendation For Outstanding Community Service, Governor Tommy Thompson, State of Wisconsin (5/7/93)
 * Ron Myers Day Proclamation, City of Milwaukee, Mayor John Norquist, Milwaukee, WI (5/8/93)
 * Resolution of Commendation For Outstanding Community Service, Milwaukee Common Council, Milwaukee, WI (5/25/93)
 * Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition For 1st National Conference on Juneteenth, Congressman William Jefferson, New Orleans, LA - Washington, DC (1/26/96)

Recordings

 * Doctor's Orders (1994 - MOJA Records)
 * Juneteenth "Free At Last" (2006 - MOJA Records)

Radio and Television Broadcasts

 * "Black Music Filler", Black History Month Jazz Music Special, WHA Television, Madison, WI, (February 1981)
 * CNN Network News (2001 & 2003)
 * NBC Today Show with Brian Gumble (3/15/90)
 * ABC Nightline With Ted Koppel (4/12/90)
 * CBS Saturday Night With Connie Chung (5/19/90)
 * National Public Television, "The American Journey" (1990 & 1991)
 * Numerous Mississippi local and state television features (1988–2005)

Newspapers & Periodicals

 * People Magazine, "Healing the Past" (9/13/04)
 * The New York Times, "Caring for the Poorest: A Rural Doctor's Fight" (2/12/90)
 * Emerge Magazine, "Where Medicine Really Counts A Physician Finds His Nitch" (8/90)
 * American Health Magazine, "Healing in the Delta" (11/90)
 * Ebony Magazine, "Dr. Ronald V. Myers - A Dream Maker" (5/91)
 * Career Focus Magazine, "Legends of 1991 - A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." (1/92)
 * Operation Pride, "A Caring Doctor Ministers to the Poor" (Fall' 94)
 * Crises Magazine, "Dr. Myers: Miracle Worker for the Poor, Downtrodden" (10/94)

Publications & Articles

 * Christian Community Health Fellowship Journal, "Taking Care of Our Own", By Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Philadelphia, PA (1996 #1 - Winter)
 * Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, "Physician Assistants and Mississippi", By George L. White, Jr., PhD, MSPH, PA-C, Charles P. Egerton, PhD,MPH, MS, PA, Ronald Myers, M.D., Robert D. Holbert, M.D., Jackson, MS (12/94)

Congressional Briefings

 * American Association of Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) Congressional Briefings on the "Pain Management Crises in America", Capitol Hill, Washington, DC (2003 & 2004)