The "Great Debate II" is a collaborative effort by the Council of the District of Columbia, the Office of Cable Television and Centric, a subsidiary of Black Entertainment Television (BET). The "Great Debate II" pays homage to the seven debates in 1858 between Republican Senate nominee Abraham Lincoln and Democratic Senate nominee Stephen Douglass over issues concerning an America in flux, notably slavery.
Join UFCW Local 400, FAITH Strategies, AFL-CIO, Ward 4 THRIVES, FORWARD, DC Jobs with JUSTICE, RESPECT DC.org., other labor organizations, and Community Leaders for the DC Emancipation Day parade. The Parade will start at 11 am, beginning at 4th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW and end at Freedom Plaza/14th Street, NW.
The Honorable Frank Smith, former DC Councilmember, will convene a work shop on the Emancipation Proclamation, featuring Hari Jones, Curator of the African American Civil War Museum, who will make an audio visual presentation. This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln..
Come join the staff at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as they gather at lunch time for two lectures in honor of DC Emancipation Day:
Come listen to Public Historian C.R. Gibbs' incredible presentation commemorating D.C. Emancipation Day, as he talks about the struggle of enslaved people for freedom, justice and equality right here in the nation's capital, and how they fared against overwhelming odds.
Join us Monday, April 29, as we acknowledge and celebrate the history of a prolific community with a little known legacy. The Hillsdale (Barry Farm) community was the first in the District, and the Nation, where blacks built a thriving community after emancipation, and it was duplicated in 77 others like it. Hillsdale and Howard University were established in 1867 with the help of General Oliver Otis Howard in response to the dire need for housing and education for blacks. 1 in 4 youth in this community used to attend Howard University.
The Pearl Coalition will honor and recognize the decendents of the Pearl schooner escape on the SW water front. They will also recognize those who helped in the planning of the escape, and DC based institutions that provided leadership and/or were created as a direct result of the escape, or the resulting actions that followed. This will be an historical happening, and will be documented for the purpose of the documentary in development by the Pearl Coalition. Honorees will receive the official DC Resolution signed into law on February 5th, 2013.
Former Washington Post reporter and noted author, Jefferson Morley, will discuss the subject of his latest literary masterpiece, the Snow Riot of 1835.
In “Snow-Storm in August,” Morley answers many questions and fills in some of the blanks, "...assembling a portrait of Washington in the 1830s by exploring characters who inhabit the second tier of history or well below. The plunge beneath the surface of history exposes realities more true to daily experience than executive proclamations or speeches in Congress."
Distinguished Professor of History and Graduate School Humanities Professor at City University of New York Graduate Center, and author, discusses his book: Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861 - 1865.
Reception prior to the lecture.
Reservations Required
After the 1861 Union defeat at nearby Bull Run, work on the Civil War Defenses of Washington proceeded in earnest. By 1864, the defenses were formidable, but mostly lay empty, as the fighting had moved south. In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee secretly dispatched General Jubal Early and an army of more than 15,000 men up the Shenandoah Valley. From Harpers Ferry, engaging in battles or skirmishes (especially at Monocacy), they drove straight towards Northwest D.C. When they were detected there was a dramatic race to staff the defenses and save Washington.
