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The Mt. Davidson Cross was designed and built by George Kelham and inaugurated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in
1934. In 1997, the citizens of San Francisco voted to approve the sale of the monument to the Council of Armenian-American
Organizations of Northern California, to preserve it as a historic landmark.
This revered site is cared for in memory of the 1,500,000 victims of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish
government from 1915 to 1916. Over half of the Armenian population on its ancient homeland was killed, and no Armenian
community remained in historical western Armenia.
By honoring those lost, we honor all victims of injustice and cruelty. In their name we dedicate ourselves to the protection
of human rights and the dignity of all peoples.
If evil of this magnitude can be ignored,
if our own children forget
then we deserve oblivion
and earn the world's scorn.
Avedis Aharonian
(writer and educator, 1866-1948)
Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day
April 24, 1998
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