August 01, 2026
WHEREAS, Michigan organizers in Detroit began celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people in the British West Indies on August 1st as early as 1839; and,
WHEREAS, after that time, organizers in Saginaw, Jackson, Benton Harbor, Hartford, Battle Creek, Niles, Lansing, Ypsilanti, Cassopolis, Kalamazoo, Bay City and Detroit established August as a time to gather to reflect on the past and present and envision the future for the descendants of enslaved people, and,
WHEREAS, August Emancipation Celebrations made regional, national and international connections between the formerly enslaved and their descendants; and,
WHEREAS, Kalamazoo residents hosted Emancipation Celebrations in 1846, 1862 and 1894; and,
WHEREAS, Kalamazoo residents figured prominently in statewide celebrations as organizers, speakers, performers and attendees; and,
WHEREAS, Michigan’s Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris supported participation in the nationally significant 1915 Lincoln Jubilee held between August 22nd and September 16th in Chicago that researched and celebrated Black people’s international status in 34 countries, 18 states and Puerto Rico, fifty years after the 13th Amendment was ratified in 1865; and,
WHEREAS, 105 Black delegates from Michigan, including officers Oscar Baker of Bay City; Lulu Margaret Williams of Kalamazoo; Mary E. McCoy of Detroit; Charles Warren of Cass County; Francis H. Warren of Detroit ; Wilmot A. Johnson of Lansing, S. Henri S. Browne, of Kent County; William R. Roberts, of Lansing; and Elsworth L. Curtis, of Berrien county; conducted and participated in research to create the Michigan Manual of Freedman’s Progress, prepared exhibits, lectures, performances and presentations for the August 26th Michigan Day at the Lincoln Jubilee; and,
WHEREAS, The Institute of Public Scholarship endeavors to recall, revive and deepen these traditions through celebrations, panels and education;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim June 19th to September 16th as Emancipation Celebration Season, and encourage all Michiganders to learn about, recognize and support initiatives that celebrate diverse expressions of emancipation and the end of slavery.
