Local Labor Celebrates DC Emancipation Day

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Organized labor was out in force yesterday at the DC Emancipation Day Parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the day President Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing 3,100 enslaved people in the District.The scene was festive and energy was high despite the near-90-degree weather as Executive Board members Dwight Bowman (AFGE District 14), Geo Johnson (AFSCME Council 20), Nathan Saunders (WTU 6), Ed Smith (IAFF 36) and Metro Council President Jos Williams marched with members, staffers, and families. The local labor contingent was followed by union firefighters in fire trucks with sirens blaring, to the delight of the children gathered along the route. At the end of the parade, DC Councilmember Vincent Orange, who organized the event, shouted out his thanks to local labor, reminding the cheering crowd “we’ve got to stand with our working men and women!" - photos by Julia Kann