Monday: DC Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Emancipation Day
Featured image: The Lincoln Memorial from Luis Gomez Photos.
DC will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Emancipation Day on April 16. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln freed all persons in slavery in DC — the first jurisdiction in the United States where slaves were freed. The act freed about 3,100 people in DC. Lincoln’s proclamation freeing slaves in the Confederate states did not occur until more than eight months later.
DC Emancipation Day: There was a wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday at the African American War Memorial at Vermont Avenue and U Street NW. (Photo: Luis Gomez Photos)
Locally, there was a wreath-laying ceremony at the African American Civil War Memorial on Saturday. The memorial is at U Street and Vermont Avenue NW is and is part of the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial; the museum is at 1925 Vermont Avenue, just south of U Street. The memorial opened in 1999 and honors the African American soldiers who fought with the Union Army in the Civil War. Check it out when you are on U Street; it is next to the U Street-Cardozo Metro Stop.
Emancipation Day Parade
The DC Emancipation Day Parade will take place on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 3rd and 13½th Streets. Time is 11 am to 2 pm. There will also be a festival and fireworks at Freedom Plaza, on E Street. The festival is from 11 am to 9 pm. There is also an Emancipation Day Scavenger Hunt scheduled.
City Services
It is an official holiday in DC, with schools and government offices closed. While regular parking and traffic regulations will remain in effect, there will be no trash pick up on Monday. Rush hour parking restrictions will be enforced on Monday, April 16, from 7 to 9:30 am and from 4 to 6:30 pm. In addition, reversible lane operations will remain in effect during rush hours.
