159 years of freedom

Hailey Heseltine  reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com  This Monday, May 20, marks the 159th Emancipation Day in Florida.  National Emancipation Day is celebrated on April 16 because it marks the anniversary of when Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act into law on April 16, 1862, thereby finally granting legal freedom to enslaved people in the District of Colombia. This was widely recognized as one of the most important first steps that later led to the nationwide abolishment of slavery.  However, not every state had their emancipation at the same time. The Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom to all enslaved people in the Confederate states, was