The District will celebrate the 150th year without slavery in April with a series of lectures, concerts, films, a street festival and a parade.
The Compensated Emancipation Act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed nine months later in 1863. The Compensation Act freed more than 3,000 slaves in Washington and provided up to $300 per slave in compensation to owners and offered $100 to every freed slave who moved to another country, according to The Washington Post.
In the late 1800s, the anniversary of the D.C. emancipation act was a major day of celebration with parades and other festivities. Although the number and size of celebrations became smaller overtime, there was still enough political momentum to create an emancipation day holiday in the city in 2005.
Upcoming festivities this year include a march along the National Mall on April 11 and an Emancipation Parade on April 16.
There will be a number of events around the city, including the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum, 1925 Vermont Ave, N.W.; the Abraham Lincoln cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers Home, Rock Creek Church Road N.W. and Upshur Street N.W., and the Frederick Douglass home, 1411 W Street S.E…