The war and subsequent liberation of hundreds of thousands of slaves has resulted in dramatic changes in the capital city of the United States. Tens of thousands of freedmen are now living in and around Washington, D.C., many in freedmen’s villages or communities. In these villages they are receiving education and job training and are…
The First Baptist Church West Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia, an African American congregation, traces its beginnings to March 16, 1863. That was the day that some 800 black members of the Charlottesville Baptist Church petitioned the church’s white leaders to allow them to form their own congregation. Today their request is finally granted, and the…
In Washington, D.C. today U. S. Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri submits a joint resolution for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Although the legislation does not pass this year, Henderson’s resolution signifies the momentum of the movement toward the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment and the abolishing of slavery on February 1, 1865. Meanwhile,…