DC Celebrates Emancipation Day - April 12th
The enslaved people in Washington, DC were freed nine months before President Abraham Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation, telegraphing the eventual end of slavery to the rest of the nation. On April 16 1862, President Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, For the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia, making DC residents the "First Freed" by the federal government.
Emancipation Day celebrations were held annually from 1866 (pictured at right) through 1901, and resumed in 2002. In 2005 Emancipation Day was made an official public holiday in the District of Columbia. Each year, a series of educational and commemorative activities is held during the week prior to the holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in Washington, DC.
When Mayor Adrian Fenty came into office in 2007 he dedicated Emancipation Day to the continued struggle for full Democracy in Washington, DC with a Voting Rights March to the United States Capitol demanding equal representation in Congress.
In 2009, the Office of the Secretary celebrates DC Emancipation Day by sponsoring a performance by acappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock at the Lincoln Memorial Rededication Concert on April 12th. The event marks the 70th anniversary of Marian Anderson’s historic Easter Sunday performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will pay tribute to Anderson and will be joined by the US Marine Band and the Chicago Children's Choir. Please click the link below to view more 2009 Emancipation Day events.