KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tuesday marks Emancipation Day, which celebrates the day when enslaved people in Tennessee were freed.
According to the Tennessee State Museum, Andrew Johnson persuaded then-President Lincoln to exclude Tennessee from the Emancipation Proclamation. So, enslaved Tennesseans did not join those in other states who celebrated Emancipation Day on Jan. 1, 1863.
At the time, the state was under Union control and Andrew Johnson was its Military Governor. He freed his personal slaves around seven months after the Proclamation was implemented, on Aug. 8, 1863. Some of those people were his illegitimate children, according to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.
One of the people emancipated that day was Sam Johnson, and he was instrumental in having Aug. 8 set aside for Emancipation Day celebrations. In 1888, around 200 people traveled to Greeneville from Knoxville for the celebration. In 1897, around 500 people traveled from Knoxville to Johnson City for a celebration there.
The first mention of a Knoxville celebration was in 1899, and in 1900 newspapers reported 3,500 people traveled from Birmingham, Asheville and Bristol to Knoxville for the celebration.
In the years following, the celebrations grew in size and location. They were eventually in Clarksville and Memphis, and Emancipation Day became an important part of Tennessee's history.
The Beck Center is hosting a screening of "Emmett Till: White Lies, Black Death" on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at the Tennessee Theatre.
On Sunday, Aug. 6, they will also host a Libation Tribute Ceremony to celebrate Emancipation Day. It starts at 7:30 a.m.
"An African proverb tells us that people who lack the knowledge of their pasts are like a tree without roots. So, in the spirit of remembrance, we pour libation during the Annual Eighth of August Libation Ceremony," the Beck Center said online.
The Libation Tribute Ceremony will be at the Freedmen's Historic Ceremony adjacent to Knoxville College. The great-great-grandson of Sam Johnson, who is now considered the father of Emancipation Day celebrations, will also be there. His name is Ned Arter.
On Sunday, the Beck Center will also lead the Emancipation Ceremony during the parade of the 37th Annual Lonsdale Homecoming. Arter will also be at that event.
