Labor to March in DC Emancipation Day Parade Today
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Local
labor leaders and activists are once again participating in the annual D.C.
Emancipation Day activities today. Emancipation Day is an official public
holiday in the District of Columbia to remember April 16, 1862 when President
Abraham Lincoln signed the DC Compensation Emancipation Act into law, which
abolished slavery in the District and freed 3,100 enslaved persons. Each year
to honor and commemorate this historic event a grand parade is held on
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW beginning at 11a on 4th Street NW and ending
at Freedom Plaza on 14th Street NW. Participants include public
officials, government agencies, the DC schools, the US military, churches,
universities, community organizations, and more. Following the parade there
will be a live concert at Freedom Plaza with performances by Talib Kweli, Doug
E. Fresh, DJ Kool, J. Ivy and DC's own Black Alley Band; the concert kicks off
at 4p. photo: AFSCME Council
20 marches in the 2012 Emancipation Day Parade; photo by Julia Kann/Union
City