Monticello's celebration is Monday, May 16
Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Jefferson County will celebrate Emancipation Day on Monday, May 16, with a parade through downtown Monticello followed by a program at the Martin Luther King Community Center. Across the United States, Emancipation Day celebrates Abraham Lincoln signing the Compensated Emancipation Act. This year's theme locally is “Free Yourself.”
Monday's events will begin with a parade that moves out at 11 a.m. Parade entrants should line up at Capital City Bank, located at 800 S. Jefferson St., beginning at 10:30 a.m., as directed by MLK Center President Charles Parrish. There is no fee for participation. Spectators can view the parade from along either side of the streets as the parade moves on South Jefferson Street from Capital City Bank toward the Courthouse, turns right onto East Washington Street and then right again onto Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The parade will end at the MLK Center, located at 1420 1st St.
“At the Center, we will have several great speakers and performances, along with the awarding of this year's essay competition winners,” says Parrish. “There will be activities, programs and services available, as well as free food for all to enjoy. Please help spread the word and come on out with your tables and chairs, and witness this historical event, which is FREE to all.”
Emancipation Day is celebrated across the United States to recognize and remember Abraham Lincoln signing the Compensated Emancipation Act on April 16th, 1862. At the beginning of 1860, there were about 4 million slaves in the United States. The Compensated Emancipation Act – which freed approximately 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia – didn’t, however, resolve the larger issue of slavery in the United States. It wasn't until the end of the Civil War in 1865 that the Thirteenth Amendment was proposed to end slavery in the United States. It was ratified by 30 of the 36 states that year.
In 2005, in the District of Columbia, Emancipation Day was made a public holiday in Washington, D.C. While it is celebrated all over the U.S., it is not celebrated everywhere on April 16. In Florida, it’s celebrated on May 20; In Texas, it’s celebrated on June 19 and in Puerto Rico, it’s celebrated on March 22. Emancipation Day is also celebrated on different days in many Caribbean countries. These include Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands. However, since many of these Caribbean countries were British possessions, they celebrate their Emancipation Day on August 1st because that is when slavery was abolished in the U.K in 1834.
For more information about local Emancipation Day events on May 16, call Parrish at (850) 997-3760.
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