This year will mark the 150th anniversary of May 20, 1865, when Union Brigadier General Edward McCook declared the Emancipation Proclamation was in effect in Tallahassee. On that day, a ceremony marked the official end of the Civil War in Florida and Union troops raised a United States flag over the state capitol building. McCook’s reading of the Emancipation Proclamation formally freed enslaved blacks in Florida.
State and local organizations and museums will host events throughout May, known collectively as the “Festival of Freedom,” to commemorate these important happenings in Florida history. An expert from Florida State University is available to comment on the anniversary, the Civil War and slavery.
Katherine Mooney, assistant professor, Department of History: (850) 413-530-4543, [email protected]Mooney is an expert in the cultural history of inequality in the United States — how it is imagined and made into political and legal discourse, and how it plays out in people’s daily lives. She primarily works on the history of slavery and its legacies, and teaches courses on the Civil War and slavery.
“Emancipation Day celebrates one of the most revolutionary events in Florida history, the coming of freedom to the enslaved. But it also celebrates African Americans’ heroic efforts to give meaning to the idea of freedom in their lives, as they built schools, businesses, and communities, often in the face of violent opposition. This is a poignant and moving anniversary.”
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