MLK Emancipation Proclamation Celebration
On Friday January 15, 2016 Nobles of Al Azhar Temple No. 195 and the Daughters of Al Azhar Court No. 181 attended the annual community gathering organized by the Greater Huntsville Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship in celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Emancipation Proclamation. The celebration was held at Progressive Union MB Church 1919 Brandontown Road in the Oasis of Huntsville, Desert of Alabama
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as an executive order on January 1, 1863, after the Confederate States of America did not respond to an ultimatum that they rejoin the Union. While stating that all slaves in ten rebellion states were free, it did not outlaw slavery, compensate the owners for their “property” or make the slaves citizens. It was not until passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 that slavery was outlawed, but the Emancipation Proclamation gave the Union troops the authority to free slaves in areas they occupied. On May 17, 1962, Dr. King delivered to the White House a document calling upon President Kennedy to mark the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation by signing an executive order outlawing segregation. That document is in this archive.
The Nobles of Al Azhar Temple No. 195 and the Daughters of Al Azhar Court No. 181 attend this yearly celebration in our community to remind us how far we have come but more as to show us how far we still have to go. The evening included music by a choir of more than 100 voices from area churches and a message that urged the congregation of more than 900 to remember their own dreams from special guest Evangelist Reverend Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr., from Charlotte, NC.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as an executive order on January 1, 1863, after the Confederate States of America did not respond to an ultimatum that they rejoin the Union. While stating that all slaves in ten rebellion states were free, it did not outlaw slavery, compensate the owners for their “property” or make the slaves citizens. It was not until passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 that slavery was outlawed, but the Emancipation Proclamation gave the Union troops the authority to free slaves in areas they occupied. On May 17, 1962, Dr. King delivered to the White House a document calling upon President Kennedy to mark the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation by signing an executive order outlawing segregation. That document is in this archive.
The Nobles of Al Azhar Temple No. 195 and the Daughters of Al Azhar Court No. 181 attend this yearly celebration in our community to remind us how far we have come but more as to show us how far we still have to go. The evening included music by a choir of more than 100 voices from area churches and a message that urged the congregation of more than 900 to remember their own dreams from special guest Evangelist Reverend Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr., from Charlotte, NC.
