Courtesy of Malcolm Wiseman
LISTEN TO ANISE JENKINS
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April 16, 1862, nine months before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln freed more than 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia. Saturday – DC Emancipation Day – marked the 149th anniversary of this historic event.
Anise Jenkins, president of Stand Up! for Democracy in D.C., said, “It’s called a compensated emancipation. D.C. was the only location in the country where the slave masters were compensated and paid… [but] the slaves were freed [and] given nothing for all of their years.”
Jenkins was wearing a plastic bracelet – “my badge” – with the number “14” on it. Another participant in Saturday’s events at the Washington Historical Society had a matching piece of jewelry.
Courtesy of Malcolm Wiseman
LISTEN TO MAYOR VINCENT GRAY
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Mayor Vincent Gray’s bracelet was marked “3” because he was the third person arrested at the April 11 civil disobedience in front of the Hart Senate Office Building.
“Earlier this week there were 41 of us who chose to protest the current enslavement of the people of the District of Columbia. And I’m still proud to wear my property tag,” said Mayor Gray.
Related Links:
standupfordemocracy.org <http://www.standupfordemocracy.org/>
Related Stories:
“The 41 for 51″: 41 Arrested In Push to Make D.C. the 51st State <http://thefightback.org/2011/04/the-41-for-51-41-arrested-in-push-to-make-d-c-the-51st-state/>