WASHINGTON –
Maj. Gen. John C. Andonie, Commanding General (interim), D.C. National Guard, and the 257th Army Band joined Mayor Muriel Bowser for the 2024 Emancipation Day Parade and concert. The event which commemorates the end of slavery is organized by the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs (MOCA).
On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of the law freed over 3,100 enslaved persons in D.C. and occurred over 8 months before President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation.
Supported by the Mayor’s Office on Community Affairs (MOCA) and the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME), the free festivities begin with the parade, followed by the D.C. Emancipation Day Concert on Freedom Plaza – featuring the region's own Ginuwine, Kelly Price, Ricky Dillard & New Generation, EU featuring Sugar Bear, along with Go-Go fusion band Black Alley, Marcus Johnson, and other local and national artists. There will be live radio broadcasts throughout the day, along with interactive activations and food trucks.
Represented in this year’s parade is a contingency of 51 youth volunteers who symbolically represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.