Updated 03/26/2011 04:41 PM
NY1 Anchor Speaks At UN Conference On Slavery
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
A Friday event at the United Nations remembered the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, and NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills took part.
The fourth anniversary of an International Day of Remembrance of Slavery in America marked African-American achievements, heritage and culture at the United Nations.
Wills touched on her own personal family history with slavery.
"I stand before you tonight, not as an author, not as a broadcaster, but the daughter of proud Africans who endured slavery until they cracked open the window of freedom. I stand before you proud to call myself a daughter of Africa," said Wills.
Wills has written a book on her family history, titled "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale." She follows the enslavement of her great-great-great-grandfather, Sandy Wills, his escape to freedom and fighting for the North in the Civil War and her family's dealings with Jim Crow laws.
2011 has been designated by the United Nations as the year dedicated to persons of African descent.