Emancipation Day 2009 in Washington, DC

Emancipation Day commemorates the day (April 16, 1862) when Abraham Lincoln granted about 3,100 enslaved people living in Washington, DC their freedom, nine months before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. In celebration of Lincoln’s Bicentennial, the 2009 event will include concerts and other special events.

• April 12, 2009 (Easter Sunday) Re-enactment of Marian Anderson's Easter Concert
  Lincoln Memorial. In 1939, Anderson, a noted opera singer, was slated to perform at DAR Constitution Hall but her appearance was canceled when organizers learned that she was African-American. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for the concert to take place instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Seventy years later, acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will join the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission at the Memorial for a concert paying tribute to this civil rights pioneer. Graves will be joined by the Washington National Opera, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the Chicago Children’s Choir. Read more about the 2009 Marian Anderson Concert
  
  
• April 13, 2009, 6 p.m. Community Ecumenical Service: Emancipation and Civil Rights: A Movement for Freedom. The Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, 1701 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC (202) 234-0300
  
  
• April 16-18, 2009. Conference: Emancipation and Race in the Age of Lincoln. A national conference exploring the domestic and international dimensions of emancipation. Each day will feature panel discussions and an evening performance. Howard University, 2600 Sixth Street, NW, Washington, DC.
  
  
• April 20, 2009, 7 p.m. Discussion: Race and Emancipation in the Age of Lincoln. A discussion about race and emancipation moderated by Dr. Edna Medford. Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth Street, NW Washington, DC (202) 397-SEAT.