Officials in the nation’s capital are announcing a series of events dedicated to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. The month of April will mark the anniversary of the 1862 federal law that freed more than 3,000 slaves in Washington. The District is expected to hold an Emancipation Parade along Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest D.C., as well as a street festival at Freedom Plaza on Monday, April 16. On April 11, the District will also hold a march among memorials on the National Mall.
Concerts, ceremonies, and lectures, in relation to slavery, emancipation and civil rights are also planned at various venues across the capitol. President Abraham Lincoln signed the compensated emancipation act into law, nine months before he issued the more renowned Emancipation Proclamation.
