Liberation and Freedom Day

In a unanimous vote, on July 1, 2019, the City Council of Charlottesville, Virginia established a new city holiday, Liberation and Freedom Day, to be celebrated on March 3. Union Army troops, under the command of Major General Philip Sheridan, arrived in Charlottesville on March 3, 1865, liberating over 14,000 slaves. "Blacks were the majority race in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area." In the 1870 Census, the first one in which Charlottesville appears, its population was 2,838.

By 4–1 vote, the City Council decided that the April 13 birthday of Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University of Virginia, will no longer be an official holiday in the city of Charlottesville.[1] News stories report that this change is because Jefferson was a slave owner.

On March 3, 2019, the slaves who built the University were honored in a ceremony held in the University Rotunda.[2][3] The University is constructing a Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, honoring the contributions of slaves who helped build and maintain the school. Completion is expected in October, 2019.[4] "The memorial was recommended by a commission convened in 2013 to study slavery and the university."[5]

Joining in the March 3 commemoration were:

References

  1. ^ "Charlottesville to honor Liberation and Freedom Day, not Thomas Jefferson's birthday". WVIR-TV (NBC29.com). July 3, 2019.
  2. ^ Davis, Moriah (March 3, 2019). "Charlottesville Celebrates Liberation and Freedom Day on UVA Grounds". WVIR-TV (NBC29.com).
  3. ^ *Bromley, Anne E. (March 3, 2019). "UVa Commemorates Enslaved Laborers at 'Liberation and Freedom Day' Ceremony". UVa Today.
  4. ^ Freedman, Emmy (January 9, 2019). "UVA to Recognize Lives of Enslaved People with New Memorial Marker". WVIR-TV (NBC29.com).
  5. ^ Associated Press (September 4, 2018). "University of Virginia boosts funding for slavery memorial". WTOP-FM.
  6. ^ "Liberation and Freedom Day". Virginia Humanities. February 15, 2019.

This page was last updated at 2019-11-14 12:00 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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