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. |
A special screening of Rosenwald, an Aviva Kempner Film, is to be held at Georgetown University at 7pm with a reception at 6:30pm. Rosenwald chronicles businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald as he used his wealth to build more than 5,000 schools for African-Americans in the south in the early 1900s.
