The Origin of Jubilee Day
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal Border States. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free a single slave, it fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Colony after colony, territory after territory, and State after State heard of the signing of the Proclamation. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
On January 1st of each year, the NAACP DeKalb County Branch and other branches celebrate the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. This celebration is called Jubilee Day. Join the NAACP and celebrate the cause.
Annual Jubilee Day Celebration
RAINBOW PARK BAPTIST CHURCH
Pastor Steven N. Dial, Sr.
2941 COLUMBIA DRIVE
DECATUR, GEORGIA 30034
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2013, 10:30 AM
SPEAKER: ATTORNEY DERRICK ALEXANDER POPE
NAACP DeKalb County Branch
John Evans, President
3011 Rainbow Drive, Suite 180A Decatur, Georgia 30034
Telephone: 404 241-8006 / Fax: 404 751-2743
Email: naacpdek@comcast.net
Website: www.dekalbganaacp.org
Blog Updates: www.dekalbganaacp.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DeKalbNAACP
Twitter: www.twitter.com/NAACPDeKalb
