[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2233-S2234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EMANCIPATION DAY
Mr. CARDIN. When Congress returns to session on Monday, April 16,
2012, we will recognize an important anniversary and holiday here in
Washington. That day will be the 150th anniversary of District of
Columbia Emancipation Day. Nine months before President Abraham Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1862, the President
signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. The act
ordered the release of the 3,100 enslaved persons of African descent
held in the Nation's capital. District of Columbia residents were
therefore known as the ``First Freed'' slaves by the Federal government
during the Civil War.
In 1865 the Confederacy surrendered and the Civil War ended, and
later that year the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified,
which states that: ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction.''
Emancipation Day celebrations were held annually in the District of
Columbia from 1866 through 1901, and resumed in 2002. In 2005
Emancipation Day was made an official public holiday in the District of
Columbia.
On March 6, 2012, the District of Columbia City Council adopted
ceremonial resolution 19 207. The resolution finds this anniversary to
be ``an important, historic occasion for the District of Columbia and
the nation and serves as an appropriate time to reflect on how far the
District of Columbia and the United States have progressed since
institutionalized enslavement of people of African descent. Most
importantly, the 150th anniversary reminds us to reaffirm our
commitment to forge a more just and united country that truly reflects
the ideas of its founders and instills in its people a broad sense of
duty to be responsible and conscientious stewards of freedom and
democracy.'' I ask unanimous consent to place a copy of this resolution
in the Record at the end of my statement.
(See exhibit 1.)
In the recent past, we have been blessed to celebrate numerous
historic achievements for African-Americans in Washington, DC and
throughout the Nation, including the election of the first African-
American President of the United States, the dedication of the Rev.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the groundbreaking for the
[[Page S2234]]
National Museum of African American History and Culture. I congratulate
the District of Columbia government and its residents on this historic
anniversary.
Exhibit 1
A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION: 19 207--IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA, March 6, 2012
To recognize and preserve the cultural history and heritage
of the District of Columbia; to formally recognize the 150th
anniversary of District of Columbia Emancipation Day on April
16, 2012, as an important day in the history of the District
of Columbia and the United States in that, on April 16, 1862,
9 months before President Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 to begin to end
institutionalized slavery in America, President Lincoln
signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act
to release the 3,100 enslaved persons of African descent held
in the nation's capital, making them the ``first freed'' by
the federal government, at a cost of nearly $1 million, in
1862 funds, paid to the people who enslaved them; to
recognize that, after the Civil War, formerly enslaved people
and others commemorated the signing of the 1862 act by
parading down Pennsylvania Avenue in festive attire, with
music and marching bands, proclaiming and celebrating freedom
in the District of Columbia Emancipation Day Parade, which
was received by every sitting President of the United States
from 1866 to 1901; and to recognize that, on March 7, 2000,
the Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously to
establish April 16th as a legal private holiday, the
Emancipation Day Parade resumed in the nation's capital in
2002, and, on April 5, 2005, District of Columbia
Emancipation Day was made a legal public holiday, recognized
annually on April 16th.
Whereas, on April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln
signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act
(``Emancipation Act'') during the Civil War;
Whereas, the Emancipation Act provided for immediate
emancipation of 3,100 enslaved men, women, and children of
African descent held in bondage in the District of Columbia;
Whereas, the Emancipation Act authorized compensation of up
to $300 for each of the 3,100 enslaved men, women, and
children held in bondage by those loyal to the Union,
voluntary colonization of the formerly enslaved to colonies
outside of America, and payments of up to $100 to each
formerly enslaved person who agreed to leave America;
Whereas, the Emancipation Act authorized the federal
government to pay approximately $1 million, in 1862 funds,
for the freedom of 3,100 enslaved men, women, and children of
African descent in the District of Columbia;
Whereas, the Emancipation Act ended the bondage of 3,100
enslaved men, women, and children of African descent in the
District of Columbia, and made them the ``first freed'' by
the federal government during the Civil War;
Whereas, nine months after the signing of the Emancipation
Act, on January 1, 1863, President Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, to begin to end
institutionalized enslavement of people of African descent in
Confederate states;
Whereas, on April 9, 1865, the Confederacy surrendered,
marking the beginning of the end of the Civil War, and on
August 20, 1866, President Andrew Johnson signed a
Proclamation--Declaring that Peace, Order, Tranquility and
Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the
United States of America;
Whereas, in December 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United
States Constitution was ratified establishing that `` Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction'';
Whereas, in April 1866, to commemorate the signing of the
Emancipation Act, the formerly enslaved people and others, in
festive attire, with music and marching bands, started an
annual tradition of parading down Pennsylvania Avenue,
proclaiming and celebrating the anniversary of their freedom;
Whereas, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day Parade
was received by every sitting President of the United States
from 1866 to 1901;
Whereas, on March 7, 2000, at the Twenty Seventh
Legislative Session of the Council of the District of
Columbia, Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, Sr. (D-Ward 5)
authored and introduced, with Carol Schwartz (R-At Large),
the historic District of Columbia Emancipation Day Amendment
Act of 2000, effective April 3, 2001 (D.C. Law 13 237; D.C.
Official Code Sec. Sec. 1 612.02a, 32 1201), and on that
same date moved an emergency version of the legislation that
established April 16th as a legal private holiday;
Whereas, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day
Emergency Amendment Act of 2000, which established April 16th
as a legal private holiday, was passed unanimously by the
Council on March 7, 2000, and signed into law on March 22,
2000 by Mayor Anthony A. Williams;
Whereas, on April 16, 2000, to properly preserve the
historical and cultural significance of the District of
Columbia Emancipation Day, Councilmember Orange hosted a
celebration program in the historic 15th Street Presbyterian
Church, founded in 1841 as the First Colored Presbyterian
Church;
Whereas, on April 16, 2002, after a 100-year absence, the
District of Columbia, spearheaded by Councilmember Orange
with the support of Mayor Anthony Williams, returned the
Emancipation Day Parade to Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., along
with public activities on Freedom Plaza and evening fireworks
(D.C. Official Code Sec. 1 182);
Whereas, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day Parade
and Fund Act of 2004, effective March 17, 2005 (D.C. Law 15
240; D.C. Official Code Sec. 1 181 et seq.), established the
Emancipation Day Fund to receive and disburse monies for the
Emancipation Day Parade and activities associated with the
celebration and commemoration of the District of Columbia
Emancipation Day;
Whereas, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day
Amendment Act of 2004, effective April 5, 2005 (D.C. Law 15
288; D.C. Official Code Sec. 1 612.02(a)(11)), established
April 16th as a legal public holiday;
Whereas, on April 16, 2005, District of Columbia
Emancipation Day was observed for the first time as a legal
public holiday, for the purpose of pay and leave of employees
scheduled to work on that day (D.C. Official Code Sec. 1
612.02(c)(2));
Whereas, April 16, 2012, is the 150th anniversary of
District of Columbia Emancipation Day, which symbolizes the
triumph of people of African descent over the cruelty of
institutionalized slavery and the goodwill of people opposed
to the injustice of slavery in a democracy;
Whereas, the Council of the District of Columbia remembers
and pays homage to the millions of people of African descent
enslaved for more than 2 centuries in America for their
courage and determination;
Whereas, the Council of the District of Columbia remembers
and pays homage to President Abraham Lincoln for his courage
and determination to begin to end the inhumanity and
injustice of institutionalized slavery by signing the
District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act on April
16, 1862;
Whereas, the alignment of the (1) election of the first
African-American President of the United States, Barack H.
Obama; (2) dedication of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial; (3) groundbreaking for the National Museum of
African American History and Culture; (4) 150th anniversary
of the District of Columbia Emancipation Day; and (5) 150th
anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,
2013, are historically important for the District of Columbia
and for the United States; and
Whereas, the 150th anniversary of District of Columbia
Emancipation Day is a singularly important occasion that
links the historic Presidency of Abraham Lincoln with the
equally historic Presidency of Barack H. Obama, as the first
President of the United States of African descent.
Resolved, by the Council of the District of Columbia, That
this resolution may be cited as the ``District of Columbia
Emancipation Day--150th Anniversary Recognition Resolution of
2012''.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia finds the
150th anniversary of District of Columbia Emancipation Day is
an important, historic occasion for the District of Columbia
and the nation and serves as an appropriate time to reflect
on how far the District of Columbia and the United States
have progressed since institutionalized enslavement of people
of African descent. Most importantly, the 150th anniversary
reminds us to reaffirm our commitment to forge a more just
and united country that truly reflects the ideals of its
founders and instills in its people a broad sense of duty to
be responsible and conscientious stewards of freedom and
democracy.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon
the first date of publication in the District of Columbia
Register.
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