Exhibit Opening & Discussion
Join us on Saturday, February 2, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the Detroit Public Library - Main Library - Friends Auditorium for Nationally acclaimed photographer, historian, genealogist and activist Dale Rich as he presents "Thenceforward and Forever Free, The Emancipation Proclamation," a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of that historic document, signed in 1863.
The presentation will feature a powerful multi-media exhibit showcasing historically important paintings, photographs and other documents illustrating the road from slavery to freedom, and to Reconstruction and beyond.
The event will also feature re-enactment soldiers from Company B of the United States Colored Troops, originally known as the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment Coloreds. The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the Army during the Civil War that were comprised of African-American soldiers.
In addition, a prominent re-enactor of Frederick Douglass will be on hand to recite the Emancipation Proclamation, which led to the 13th Amendment and the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Keynote speaker for this event will be Dr. Alisea Williams-McLeod, a Humanities instructor at Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss. Dr. Williams will speak on "Contraband Camp Registers: Links to Our Past." She has also developed a Website devoted to the transcription and digitization of thousands of names of black freed people recorded at the camps during the Civil War.