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. |
The Southwest Library of the District of Columbia Public Library presents this documentary produced and directed by Adreena Ifill about Congressman Robert Smalls, who began his life as an enslaved person in South Carolina.
