Opinion

It is an opportunity to revisit the history of how emancipated people in the U.S. were systematically denied their freedom.

President Abraham Lincoln‘s Emancipation Proclamation didn’t become national law until January 1, 1863, which gave millions of slaves their freedom. Before that historic event, the President signed an act abolishing slavery in the Nation’s Capital on this day in 1862. In Washington, D.C., Emancipation Day has been an official public holiday since 2005. SEE ALSO: Benjamin […]