RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An “emancipation watch” party is planned in Virginia’s capital city.
The event next week is modeled after gatherings held by slaves and abolitionists on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, ordering the emancipation of slaves.
On Monday, scholars including University of Richmond President Edward Ayers will discuss that era at a panel discussion at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The Virginia Historical Society will host its watch party that day. The event is being co-sponsored by The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar.
Following the Smithsonian program, historians will discuss Virginia’s connection to emancipation.
