Emancipation Day
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Emancipation Day is celebrated in various locations in observation generally of the emancipation of slaves.
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[edit] Caribbean
Emancipation Day is widely observed in the British West Indies during the first week of August. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834. In many Caribbean countries, the Emancipation Day celebration is a part of carnivals which take place during this time.
[edit] Bermuda
Emancipation Day is a national holiday in Bermuda on August 1, though it is usually celebrated on August 2. On the island the holiday is better known as the first day of "Cupmatch", an annual two day bipartisan cricket competition, between the opposing St. George's and Somerset cricket clubs.
[edit] Barbados
On the island of Barbados, emancipation is observed on August 1. The celebration includes various events held at Emancipation Roundabout in St. Michael. This location is the site of a statue honoring "massa", the leader of the slave revolt at Bailey's Plantation.
[edit] Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Emancipation Day is celebrated every year on August 1st in Trinidad and Tobago. This celebration is in remembrance of the full freedom of slaves from plantations and masters and the gaining of personal autonomy.
[edit] Bahamas
Emancipation Day is more commonly referred to in the Bahamas as August Monday as it is celebrated on the first Monday in August. Celebrations are mainly concentrated in Fox Hill village, Nassau - a former slave village whose inhabitants, according to folklore, heard about their freedom a week after everyone else on the island.
[edit] Anguilla
In Anguilla, August Monday is the first Monday in August. Although it also commemorates the Emancipation Act, it is also the first day of "August Week", the Anguillian carnival celebrations. Jouvert morning is celebrated on this day, as carnival commences.
[edit] Others
Guyana and Jamaica celebrate on August 1. The Turks and Caicos Islands observe a national holiday for Emancipation Day on August 7.
[edit] United States
[edit] Florida
The state of Florida observes emancipation in an unofficial commemoration on May 20th. In the capital, Tallahassee, Civil War reenactors playing the part of Major General Edward McCook and other union soldiers act out the speech General McCook gave from the steps of the Knott House on 1865-05-20.[1] This was the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Florida.[2]
[edit] Washington, D.C.
The municipality of Washington, D.C., celebrates April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation which presaged the eventual end of slavery to the rest of the nation. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to former owners of emancipated slaves.[3]
On January 4, 2005, Mayor Anthony Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official public holiday in the District. Each year, a series of activities will be held during the public holiday including the traditional Emancipation Day parade celebrating the freedom of enslaved persons in the District of Columbia. The Emancipation Day celebration was held yearly from 1866 to 1901, and was resumed as a tradition and historic celebration in 2002 [3] as a direct result of years of research, lobbying and leadership done by Ms. Loretta Carter-Hanes.[citation needed]
In 2007, the observance of this holiday in Washington DC had the effect of nationally extending the 2006 income tax filing deadline from the 16th to the 17th of April, a delay that will recur in April of 2012. This 2007 date change was not discovered until after many forms went to print.[4]
[edit] Texas
In Texas, Emancipation Day is celebrated on June 19. It commemorates the announcement in Texas of the abolition of slavery made on that day in 1865. It is commonly known as Juneteenth.
[edit] Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico celebrates Emancipation Day, an official holiday, on March 22.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Knott House Museum Exhibits & Programs. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Knott House Museum. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ a b DC Celebrates Emancipation, Government of the District of Columbia
- ^ Taxpayers Have Until April 17 to File and Pay (IR-2007-15), Internal Revenue Service, 2007-01-24
