Emancipation day in DC

Today marked the 160th anniversary of Emancipation Day in Washington DC. More than eight months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act on April 16, 1862. The bill released thousands of people in the DC from bondage and set the course for what would eventually happen throughout the country.

There was a parade, a concert and, tonite, there will be fireworks.