Today is Charleston’s first Emancipation Day, three years after former President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. In the heart of the former Confederacy and accompanied by the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, thousands, many of whom are Baptists, participate in the parade, listen to speeches, and eat barbecue. The South Carolina Leader describes the scene:…
For white Baptists, Christmas Day is mostly just another day. Privately, relatively few families exchange gifts in their homes. Some mark the day with a special meal. Churches, opposed to holidays with pagan origins, do not celebrate or otherwise recognize the day. On the other hand, African Americans, including Baptists, have a different view. During…
In Raleigh this day the first Convention of the Colored People of North Carolina convenes, a gathering “novel to the white people.” Prior to the end of the war and the defeat of the Confederacy, such an assembly was not merely unlawful, but inconceivable. Even now, many delegates from distant towns and cities traveled to…