Emancipation Day (redirected from Emancipation Day (August Monday))

Emancipation Day (Canada)

August 1 or the nearest Saturday

Emancipation Day commemorates August 1, 1834, the date that England's Abolition of Slavery Bill took effect, ending slavery throughout the British Empire. As a result of the law, more than one million slaves were freed in the British colonies, including Canada. While August 1 is not a public holiday in Canada, it is marked by many communities, particularly in Ontario, where many sites of importance to African-Canadian history are located. Public ceremonies typically take place in Toronto, Windsor, Amherstburg, and other cities and towns. But two sites of particular historical interest, the city of Owen Sound and Uncle Tom's Cabin in Dresden, organize Ontario's most prominent Emancipation Day observances. They take place on the Saturday nearest August 1.
Owen Sound was the northern-most terminus for the Underground Railroad, the network of people that helped slaves escape from the American South to the North and to Canada. Many escaped slaves settled in Owen Sound to become integral members of the community. Since 1862, the town has held a picnic to commemorate both Emancipation Day and the U.S. abolition of slavery, which took effect on January 1, 1863. The picnic, attended by local groups and many visitors, has come to incorporate music, crafts, and black-history exhibits as well as food and games.
The Uncle Tom's Cabin site in Dresden comprises the former home of Reverend Josiah Henson and other period buildings, as well as a major exhibit and interpretive centre on black history in North America. Henson, an escaped slave, settled in Ontario in 1830. He established the Dawn Settlement, a community that nurtured former slaves' self-sufficiency and success. Harriet Beecher Stowe used him as the model for the title character in Uncle Tom's Cabin, her renowned anti-slavery novel. The Uncle Tom's Cabin site marks Emancipation Day with a day-long program of educational and cultural events, including storytelling, dance, drama, and speeches.

CONTACTS:
Emancipation Picnic Committee
1303 Knights Bridge Ct.
Burlington, ON ON L7P 3K8 Canada
www.emancipation.ca
Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site
29251 Uncle Tom's Rd.
Dresden, ON NOP 1MO Canada
www.uncletomscabin.org/index.htm

Celebrated in: Canada

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Emancipation Day (Hutchinson, Kansas)

First weekend in August

Emancipation Day typically commemorates the day African-American slaves were freed in the United States. That event is celebrated annually in Hutchinson, Kansas, on the first weekend in August.
During the post-Civil War era, former slaves in the region celebrated Emancipation Day as "Lincoln Day" in Atchinson, Kansas, on September 22. That was the anniversary of the date in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that would take effect the following year. By the late 1890s, the celebration had been moved to Hutchinson in order to take advantage of its more central location. In 1931 the local government proclaimed August 4 Emancipation Day and made it a legal holiday within the African-American community.
Since that time, a program of activities has been conducted each year. While the activities vary somewhat from year to year, the weekend typically kicks off with a social event on Friday night and features a parade on Saturday morning that begins at the intersection of 12th and Main. Following the parade and opening ceremonies, participants gather for a picnic in the park with food and drink vendors. The holiday program also includes sports, such as a basketball, boxing, or golf, as well as a teen night at a local swimming pool. Entertainment includes concerts featuring jazz, blues, or Gospel performers, and the weekend concludes with an ice cream social on Sunday afternoon.

CONTACTS:
Hutchinson Reno Arts & Humanities Council
23 East 1st Ave.
Hutchinson, KS 67501
620-662-1280
Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 519
117 N. Walnut
Hutchinson, KS 67504-0519
620-662-3391
www.hutchchamber.com

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 146
(c)

Celebration days:
2011: Aug 6; Aug 7
2012: Aug 4; Aug 5
2013: Aug 3; Aug 4
2014: Aug 2; Aug 3
2015: Aug 1; Aug 2

Celebrated in: Kansas

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Emancipation Day (Tallahassee, Florida)

May 20

Emancipation Day in Tallahassee, Florida, is celebrated each year on May 20. That date marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Union General Edward M. McCook announced from the steps of his headquarters in central Tallahassee that President Abraham Lincoln had ended slavery in Florida under the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Since 1997 the site of McCook's headquarters, now known as Knott House and open to the public as a state historical museum, has hosted an annual reenactment of the proclamation. A local actor dressed in period costume for the occasion delivers McCook's address from the steps of the white-columned antebellum mansion. A free public celebration follows, with additional speeches, period entertainment, and a picnic across the street in Lewis Park. In addition, trolley tours are conducted to local African-American heritage sites, including a cemetery where African-American Union soldiers were laid to rest.
Long-celebrated by the local African-American community at various sites throughout the area, the observance of Emancipation Day includes a wreath-laying ceremony at Old City Cemetery and a number of educational and cultural functions during the preceding week.

CONTACTS:
Knott House Museum
301 E. Park Ave.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850-922-2459
www.flheritage.com/museum/sites/knotthouse
John G. Riley Center/Museum of African-American History & Culture
419 E. Jefferson St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850-681-7881; fax: 850-681-7000
www.rileymuseum.org

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 142
(c)

Celebration day: May 20

Celebrated in: Florida

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Emancipation Day (United States)

January 1

President Abraham Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves on January 1, 1863. Although some states have their own emancipation, or freedom, celebrations on the anniversary of the day on which they adopted the 13th Amendment, the most widespread observance takes place on January 1 because it is both a traditional and a legal holiday in all the states. In Texas, and other parts of the South and Southwest, the emancipation of the slaves is celebrated on June 19 or Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to enforce Lincoln's proclamation.
Celebrations are more common in the southern United States, where they frequently center around public readings of the original Emancipation Proclamation.

CONTACTS:
U.S. Government Printing Office
732 N Capitol St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20401
888-293-6498 or 202-512-1530; fax: 202-512-2104
www.gpoaccess.gov

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 131
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 6
AnnivHol-2000, p. 2
EncyChristmas-2003, p. 210
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 24
PatHols-2006, p. 97

Celebration day: Jan 1

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Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C.)

April 16

In Washington, D.C., April 16th is celebrated as Emancipation Day, commemorating the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the District of Columbia Emancipation Act. This law was enacted nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves throughout the United States on January 1, 1863. At the time of their emancipation, slaves from the District of Columbia were offered $100 to relocate to colonies outside the United States. In addition, former masters who had remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War were compensated $300 for each freed slave. More than 3,000 slaves were freed under this agreement.
Commemoration of the event was celebrated with parades and festivities annually from 1866 through 1901. The holiday was revived in 2002, and since 2005 the date has been a legal holiday in the District. Events are scheduled throughout the preceding week, including lectures, speeches, reenactments, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park near Capitol Hill. The observance culminates in a day of festivities and entertainment that begins with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in the morning and ends with evening fireworks on April 16th.

CONTACTS:
District of Columbia Emancipation Day Foundation
4101 S. Dakota Ave. N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20017
202-529-4833
www.dcemancipation.org
District of Columbia Mayor's Office
Emancipation Day
John A. Wilson Bldg.
1350 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
202-727-1000
www.dc.gov/emancipationday

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 149
PatHols-2006, p. 108
(c)

Celebration day: Apr 16