Emancipation Day

Emancipation Day Celebration at the Knott House Museum

Posted on May 17, 2017

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media is invited to attend the Emancipation Day Celebration at the Knott House Museum on Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. More than 400 visitors attend this commemoration of the 1865 declaration by Union Brigadier General Edward McCook that the Emancipation Proclamation was in effect in Florida. The annual event includes musical performances, speakers, a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and a free lunch in Lewis Park.
WHEN: Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
At 11:15 a.m., Secretary of State Ken Detzner and Anne Harris, Board Chair of the John G. Riley Museum, will be available for media interviews.
LOCATION: The Knott House Museum
301 East Park Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida
SPEAKERS: Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner
Lisa C. Barton, Director, Museum of Florida History
Reverend Henry Steele
Althemese Barnes, Director, John G. Riley Museum
John Anderson, portraying Frederick Douglass
About the Emancipation Day Celebration
Emancipation Day is part of a weeklong celebration of Emancipation in Florida’s capital city. Since 2001, the Knott House Museum and the John G. Riley Museum have partnered to produce this public celebration at the Knott House Museum. The Emancipation Day Celebration is sponsored by the City of Tallahassee, the Council on Culture and Arts, the Florida Department of State, Friends of the Museums of Florida History, Inc., Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, Hopping, Green and Sams, P. A., Leon County Tourist Development Council and Tallahassee Downtown. The Emancipation Day Celebration is sponsored in part by a grant from the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

2nd Infantry Regiment U.S. Colored Troops' 2017 Season of Emancipation

Posted on May 10, 2017

Saturday, May 13
5th Annual “Walk Through Living History Festival Parade and Day in the Park,” on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Speed Spencer Stephens Park, 1907 Saxon St., Tallahassee
The day will kick-off with a parade at 9 a.m. featuring JROTC groups from throughout the city. The parade begins at the corner of Perry and Floral streets, and ends at Saxon Street. Activities in the park range from games and activities for children to stage presentations. The main feature of the park will be living history demonstrations depicting civilian and military life prior to, during and after the Civil War. Attendees will be able to travel back in time and visit Civil War campsites, chat with Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Black Seminole Indians and Buffalo Soldiers. It’s a fun way to celebrate American soldiers and their families and learn as well. Area vendors will also showcase their wares.
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Friday, May 19
7th Annual Emancipation and Abolitionist Ball, on Friday, May 19, 7-11 p.m., Goodwood Museum, 1600 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee
The ball culminates the citywide commemoration of May 20,1865, the day that slaves received the news in Florida that slavery had been abolished. In honor of the 152nd anniversary of the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Tallahassee. Attendees are encouraged to wear Civil War period attire and they will enjoy old-fashioned, Civil War era cuisine for dinner. Among the highlights of the ball is the presentation of the Althemese Barnes Outstanding Service Award for extraordinary service in the preservation and promotion of African American History. This year’s recipient is the Ahmed Temple #37 Shriners organization.
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Saturday, May 20
Wreath-laying Ceremony and salute to fallen U.S.C.T. soldiers, on Saturday, May 20, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Old City Cemetery, Martin Luther King St., Tallahassee.
Historical Reenactment and Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, on Saturday, May 20, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Knott House Museum, 301 East Park Ave., Tallahassee.
Contact for all events: Jarvis Rosier at 850-509-0295

Emancipation Day