Dr. Ida Jones, Archivist at Morgan State University, author and historian, will discuss the history of the church and its role in the emancipation of enslaved persons in the District. C.R. Gibbs, historian, lecturer, scholar, and author, will discuss the book he co-authored with Kathleen M. Lesko and Valerie Babb, Black Georgetown Remembered, the 25th edition of which has just been released and is available for signing. Miss Dawne Young, a descendant of one of the church's founders, will discuss John H. Brent and her family's involvement in the escape attempt of 77 enslaved persons from the District on the schooner called the "Pearl,"  in 1848.

Mount Zion United Methodist Church, founded in 1816, is the oldest African American Church in the District. This program, in honor of DC Emancipation Day, is planned by the church's 200th Anniversary Committee, under the leadership of Rev. Johnsie W. Cogan, and is given in cooperation with the DC Office of Public Records.