The Fight For Freedom: From The Emancipation Proclamation To The March On Washington

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Emancipation-0218.mp3

February 18, 2013

Happy President’s Day! Originally, this holiday celebrated George Washington’s birthday on February 22. In 1971, it was enlarged to remember all American presidents and it was moved to the 3rd Monday in February in order to give most workers a long weekend. But, when Americans celebrate President’s Day, our attention rests on Washington and Lincoln, whose birthday was February 12. Abraham Lincoln is still embraced by both political parties as the paradigmatic leader who brought us through a civil war and who ended slavery. This year, with a movie about Lincoln expected to fare very well at Sunday’s Academy Awards, and as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln remains in the hearts of many black and white Americans a visionary who fought tirelessly for the rights of the enslaved.

Tom Hall talks with Loyola professor Kaye Wise Whitehead about the connection between Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington.

Dr. Whitehead is the author of an article in the Black History Bulletin entitled “The Long Arm of Justice Swings from the Emancipation Proclamation to the March on Washington.” Her forthcoming book is called "Emilie Frances Davis, Her Life, In Her Own Words: 1863-1865." It will be released in June.