Delegation gathers for prayer led by Rev. Al Sampson at War Memorial at Heroes Acre. (Photo: Monica Morgan)

HARARE (FinalCall.com)—

The 38 members of the Black media and clergy from America first toured the Heroes Gallery, a facility housing personal artifacts of the dead soldiers and photos of the horrors of the liberation war that led to deaths of many civilians as well as soldiers.

The delegation, which was sent by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, also visited the statue paying tribute to the war dead and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb is flanked by two high walls on which are engraved and painted various scenes of the armed struggle.

Prior to examining the statue, the delegation joined hands and said a prayer to the memory of the war heroes. The prayer was led by the Rev. Al Sampson, a Chicago pastor who was traveling with the delegation:

"Eternal God, in the quietness of this moment, we hear the heroes and sheroes with the power of the spirit, as their spirit moves through the wind and the trees.

"We thank You for the liberation struggle so that we can reclaim that which was ours. You gave us permission to have the resources of the universe. We bless this country; we honor this country; we love this country. We appreciate the heroes and sheroes who died, that we might keep it inside the memory of our spirit, that we might tell the truth, like the wind, all over the world. That we might remember this day, these statues, these graves, these unknown soldiers who are heroes and sheroes of yesterday.

"Like the wind, may we tell the story to generations yet unborn that there are a group of people, who are prepared to die for the land, the gift that was given to us by You, the God of our ancestors.

"May we as sons and daughters of the Diaspora, coming home to the Motherland that we were snatched from, may we never forget, may we always remember, because we’ve come too far, we’ve struggled too hard, the spirit has been too deep, the tears flow too sure.

"We need a blessed assurance that You will not abandon us, God of liberation. We need an assurance that we will always keep the memory for generations yet unborn.

"We thank you for Minister Louis Farrakhan for having the vision, the integrity and the commitment to make a difference on the soil of our ancestors. We pray for this great president, who found inside of the Holy Scripture in the book of Joshua, ‘Moses thy servant is dead. The land is your land. Do not move to the left, nor to the right. Be strong and of good courage, for the land is your land.’

"May we stand from this moment on, from this day forward, to remember that from Africa to America, from Georgia to Nigeria, from Gabon to the Ivory Coast, the land is our land.

"From this day forward, may this be our memory. May this be our prayer. Lest we never forget, ‘Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, may we continue to be true to our native land.’

"In the name of the God of our ancestors, we pray. Amen."