When the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act was enacted on April 16, 1862, freeing 3,000 enslaved Black Washingtonians, it was a barrier-breaking move and landmark victory in the nationwide fight for the abolition of slavery.
As the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t issued until January 1, 1863, despite continued racism and segregation, Black Washingtonians felt semblances of freedom more than eight months before slavery became illegal throughout the United States and three years before the official end of the Civil War.
It is for that reason that the District celebrates emancipation to this day, including events citywide and a Mayor’s Office-sponsored parade and concert, this year held on Saturday, April 15.
In the wake of celebrating freedom, however, Washingtonians should question just how “free” they truly are.
Serving as far more than a license plate slogan, “Taxation without representation,” is a rallying cry for the more than 700,000 District residents who pay taxes without full representation in Congress. Despite D.C.’s Home Rule, Congress has the ability to meddle in District affairs — as was recently seen in the case of the District’s Revised Criminal Code Act debates.
D.C. statehood advocates argue that making the nation’s capital a state will offer Washingtonians the full rights of other U.S. citizens, something they currently don’t possess despite paying taxes as American citizens do.
Merriam-Webster defines “emancipate,” as a transitive verb meaning “to free from restraint, control, or the power of another.” While the abolition of slavery is certainly worth commemorating, it’s also worth noting that District residents are still under the power of another in many ways — while lacking rights in other aspects.
As Washingtonians celebrate the freeing of enslaved African Americans in the District 161 years ago, Emancipation Day should also serve as a reminder that the District isn’t fully free.
In the famous 1971 words of Fannie Lou Hamer, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”