It’s official, D.C. will again begin celebrating Emancipation Day in grand style.  Emancipation Day celebrates President Lincoln’s freeing of the enslaved in Washington, D.C., April 16, 1862.  He would later “free” the enslaved in territories that he did not control through the more famous  Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  (Ironically, Lincoln’s action compensated the owners of the enslaved, but not the enslaved.)

The District is planning three days of celebration including a gospelfest and fireworks display April 16 at 9:00p on Freedom Plaza, 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.