Marching Towarad Emancipation
Emancipation in the District of Columbia is studied using the history of the United States Colored Troops and African American involvement in the American Civil War.
What is Emancipation Day?The DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 ended slavery in Washington, DC, freed 3,100 individuals, reimbursed those who had legally owned them and offered the newly freed women and men money to emigrate. It is this legislation, and the courage and struggle of those who fought to make it a reality, that we commemorate every April 16, DC Emancipation Day. |