This year marks 150 years of emancipation in the District. 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.
Join us at President Lincoln's Cottage for a free program commemorating this historic day for the District of Columbia and the nation. This outdoor program will include musical entertainment and will feature Lincoln and Civil War scholars Harold Holzer, Edna Greene Medford, and Frank Williams.
In partnership with the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia and the Lincoln Group of DC.
Program:
* Just Righteous, a musical performance
* Introduction and Welcome: Erin Carlson Mast, Director, President Lincoln's Cottage
* Welcoming Remarks: Vincent Orange, Washington DC At-large Councilmember
* Lincoln's Views on Emancipation in the District: Hon. Frank J. Williams
* Media Reaction to the DC Emancipation Act: Harold Holzer
* Washington's Response to the DC Emancipation Act: Dr. Edna Greene Medford
* Facilitated Q&A: With Burrus Carnahan, Esquire, President, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia
* Just Righteous, a musical performance
* Announcement of Free in DC: Jane Freundel Level, Chief Historian, Cultural Tourism DC
* Closing Remarks: Vincent C. Gray, Mayor, District of Columbia
* Just Righteous, a musical performance
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