May 17, 2022 – Santa Fe College’s Association of Black Faculty and Staff invite the college community to observe Florida Emancipation Day. It is observed on May 20, in recognition of the day in 1865 when Union Brigadier Gen. Edward McCook announced the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln effectively ending the institution of slavery in the state of Florida.
Similar to Juneteenth (the day in 1865 in which slaves in Texas were officially freed) Florida Emancipation Day is also a solemn observance of the two years it took after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation before slaves were actually freed.
ABFS invites the community to learn more about our history and Florida Emancipation Day from Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida. To learn more about ABFS, visit sfcollege.edu/access-inclusion/affinity-groups/abfs/index.