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. |
Suddenly free, with little or no means to feed themselves, without shelter, no means of self-support, and literally owning nothing but the clothes on their backs, newly freed enslaved people now faced another insurmountable challenge to their very existence.
