04/16/14 Freedom Plaza 5:00-8:30
Free DC Emancipation Day Concert sponsored by BET
featuring Talib Kweli, Raheem DeVaugn, MC Lyte, Arrested Development, Doug E Fresh, DJ Kool, J. Ivy, Black Alley Band, and more...followed by fireworks
So this is to emancipate the country from the control those in DC have over us and return their powers to only what was granted in the constitution right? I see no other emancipation issue involving DC what-so-ever.
The District of Columbia celebrates April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to former owners of emancipated slaves.
On January 4, 2005, Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official public holiday in the District. Although Emancipation Day occurs on April 16, by law when April 16 falls during a weekend, Emancipation Day is observed on the nearest weekday. Each year, a series of activities will be held during the public holiday including the traditional Emancipation Day parade celebrating the freedom of enslaved persons in the District of Columbia. The Emancipation Day celebration was held yearly from 1866 to 1901, and was resumed as a tradition and historic celebration in 2002 as a direct result of years of research, lobbying and leadership by Ms. Loretta Carter-Hanes.
