Mayor Signs District of Columbia Emancipation Day Amendment Act of 2004

(Washington, DC)  Mayor Anthony A. Williams today signed into law Bill 15-827, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day Amendment Act of 2004. The bill establishes April 16 as a recognized legal public holiday in the District.

The holiday commemorates the day in 1862 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, which ended slavery in the District of Columbia and freed more than 3,000 slaves. This act was passed nine months before President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  It was the first time that the government of the United States acted formally to abolish slavery and telegraphed the eventual end of slavery to the rest of the country.

“Creating this holiday will help to make this day of remembrance a permanent part of the District’s civic culture and an appropriate celebration of those who sacrificed in fighting slavery,” said Mayor Williams.

“This historic signing and official recognition of the DC Emancipation Day public holiday commemorating the District of Columbia as the first jurisdiction in the nation to have its 3100 slaves freed on April 16, 1862, nine months prior to the freeing of all slaves in the United States, is a great achievement for the preservation of DC history and world-wide education,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, Sr., author of the legislation.  DC slaves were “freed first,” and the nation followed on January 1, 1863.

In November, Mayor Williams signed a related bill, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day Parade and Fund Act of 2004. That bill established the Emancipation Day Parade and created the Emancipation Day Fund to use money to be raised from gifts and donations to fund the Parade and other activities related to Emancipation Day celebrations.

In addition to the Parade, the District of Columbia Public Schools will plan Emancipation Day programs, acti